But there is a big incentive to work quickly to keep carrying costs down, work smart on materials vs labor to keep costs down, and work well to make the finished product as appealing as possible.

However, with the secured business loan, the payment burden (lack thereof) appeals to me more.

In all associations, there is an appeals process. 

So here’s the “appealing” circumstances.

There are other appealing factors of the HML as well, but its definitely easier and more short-term for us to use an HML.

As someone who's built a few houses, I never understood the shipping container appeal. 

These complexes are appealing to the eye (mine at least).

The appeal is to people with little to no money believing this will solve their issues.

Their mission is to assess properties for the highest possible amount to generate the maximum revenue without getting push back from property owners (either politically or through appeals). 

The advantage to the medium-term rental is that you are probably not going to encounter laws/HOA rules that limit them (HOA can be tricky, so double check), they are less work than an STR, the money is still better than a traditional rental and the demand is relatively high if you are close to a college or a hospital or something with appeal that needs employees.