This could result in higher quality tenants sooner and keeping them longer, all which have more than quantifiable effects. 

I’m active duty Air Force with four properties.

I have a solid PM, who manages a property for us a little more south, who is not too worried about the property being in Olympia, and says that if he places quality tenants, there shouldn't be an issue.  

Meaning the quality and retention level of renters is high and thereby increases demand for new rentals with the increasing population growth of 1% per year.- Mobile is home of Mardi Gras which brings in a whopping quarter-of-a-billion dollars in revenue and sends hundreds of thousands of tourists to the city each year.- Mobile has the only cancer research center along the upper gulf coast providing a wide array of medical jobs to the area.- Mobile’s low cost of living and doing business provides a desired aspect to renters that can’t be achieved elsewhere, which provides a steady influx of renters thereby decreasing vacancy rates.

PM's are like the market themselves, they seem to go up and down in quality to some degree, plus truthfully you'll find some that are more experienced in specific locations than others are.

Should I take out equity in the home towards a crash pad and/or doing some minor upgrades on the home OR should I save up to get into air BNB arbitrage to increase my money flow and put that towards fixing the home and eventually obtaining a crash pad.

@Joshua DunlapRecommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a Class A property in Class D area, what quality of tenant will you get?

Avoid Lawson, one of my clients got in trouble bc of their terrible quality issues.

I'd love to hear if you have any pro tips.

If you have any questions at all feel free to reach out I am always happy to help offer advice and tips.