Is 4th ward pretty much the inside of the bend of the river and does it extend out much?

The area and price range you mention  should go  very  quickly regardless of the time you list the property... when you sell - you can also ask the buyer to provide you with an extended closing date or lease back ( if you need some extra time before needing to move ) . 

We needed an upgraded 200amp electrical panel ($5-8k), extended water and sewer for the garage ($5k), built out interior ($7k?)

I’m considering hiring a lawyer to try and recover the cost of the repairs and potentially my extended holding costs.

Anyone have insight on these being better markets for traditional long term rentals vs. 30 day minimum extended stays / MTRs?

I had to extend the loan once and completed the entire thing in just under 2 years while working full time.

Then you can use content tools and SEO tools from carrot to extend your website into new markets. 

Nothing says value, like being able to go on an extended vacation knowing that rent will be paid on time and any problem that comes up will be fixed! 

You will subject to the lending market at the time near to the balloon expiration.I would negotiate for the recurring option to extend the loan an additional year at the cost of a 0.75% rate increase.

Best case scenario, you can extend the timeline and close on it with a HML.