What are the most effective marketing tools you are aware of for a situation like this?

Which method is the most cost and time effective?  

hi,I'm planning to sell my old house to avail the capital gains exception, i have a few months left. My original thought was to wait out a couple more months and then put on the market - hoping to get a better price a...

The bigger question is how effective the "spray and pray" approach to offers is...answer: it's somewhat market dependent, but for the most part it's a waste of yours and everyone else's time. 

If you spend under the $16,000 they pay under the Actual Cash Value payment (i.e. no depreciation reimbursed) then you get to keep the remainder... so say you end up being able to get everything done for $14,000, then you get to keep the remaining $2,000 which is not technically a profit, just that you were able to do the repairs in a more cost-effective way than the standard market price.

There's a part of the fence on the side of the house that collapsed but that doesn't effect the homes livability.So, I'm terrified I'll get this under contract but won't find a renter/buyer that is willing to do the work to fix the house.

But is it as cost effective? 

For example, 4% mortgage interest rate for somebody in 28% tax bracket would be (0.04*(1-0.28)) 2.88% effective rate that would be your guaranteed return.

@Douglas KrofcheckIf you have four separate units and wanted to install a central vacuum in each, it is possible each would need to be plumbed separately {for fire code reasons} - either back to a common mechanical room or within each unit - requiring a separate canister/motor to be installed for each.While a central vacuum would be a nice perk, I doubt it would be cost effective - it would likely be cheaper to finish all the units with hard flooring (no carpets) and buy a $50 Bissell Power Force bagless vacuum for each unit.  

My effective return on my down payment ends up being about 18%.