But again, your profit after selling costs (and any capex improvements) would have to be in excess of $60ok to really make sense.

Adding and making better could sell or rent faster, but it won't get you more than what the market ARV and rent is set at from other similar comps in the area....and your Interior Design background will help, if you you it mostly as an understanding of cost. 

Yes you can, you're just selling like any other sale.

As far as the property, is there enough to sell if needed?

They sell chemicals at the local Home Depot that gets that stuff off.

Beyond carefully vetting the tenants, how can an investor protect themselves from squatters if we want to sell years down the road?

I sell insurance and prepare income tax returns but I am not an attorney and don't play one on television or radio.The Illinois Legislature has a law either pending or just passed that will GUT LLC protection.

Several factors at play: the sales market has been slow so many would-be sellers are converting houses they can’t sell to rentals, lots of new construction units have been completed recently, and in-migration has slowed down a bit.

I've heard too many stories of investors purchasing homes for STR use, only to find that they lose their permit or the ability to transfer it when they sell.

You wouldn't want to pop a 2% balloon unless you sold the property, but make sure you write it as assumable so you can sell it.