Together the portfolio is worth 2.5 Million and he STRs them on Vrbo and Air BnB. 

The air conditioning doesn’t work, the fridge is broken, and the property is far from "turnkey."

I would say air on the side of caution.  

They built a pole barn structure, air conditioned it, strung up some lights and trendy decor and host baby showers or weddings almost every weekend. 

There are several STR's on AiR B&B that do not abide this; are they likely operating outside of permits or does the county make exceptions?

Alternatively, you can offer more such as central air when the competition doesn't have it.Avoid areas with a lot of new rental deliveries.

Many properties in Macon lack central heat and air which I feel is a "must-have" amenity in GA.

I have my eye on a couple of small places that I am interested in for Air BnB.  

If mold remediation is done by a handyman without air sampling or post-remediation testing, it can lead to issues during the sale.

Affordability is about 1:3So yeah on the surface it looks like a big difference, but there's a lot of things not controlled for in the stats- There were a crazy amount of houses built in the years just after the war, so housing stock was easy to come by everywhere;- Homes had nowhere near the kind of features they have now - 2 car garages, dishwashers, OTC microwaves, W/D hookups, high efficiency windows, central heat & air conditioning, etc - all those doodads and niceties drive up the cost of housing;- Fewer mortgages were 30 year, so homeowners had to pay (relatively) higher monthly payments;- Rentals were almost exclusively apartments, so there was more supply for buyers;ETCI think these things tend to be more stories that make for good press but aren't really that grounded in reality overall.