What would you do to improve it? 

Any capital improvements on a not owned yet property would involve a complex 1031 you’d want someone like @Dave Foster involved in. 

Personally If you like your current residence and hope to stay there long term I would forgo major improvements on my primary and use all investment savings to make you more money and cash flow. 

Offering discounts for weekday or longer stays could also help improve occupancy.

I want to improve our asset management side.

Find Brandon's videos on YouTube for the "four square" method of analyzing homes and practice.

Drywall, for instance, is an art, you can't just watch a YouTube vid a become an expert. 

Sure, I could look for a higher paying job, but I was wondering if anyone has any creative short-term methods to improve my ratio.

Maybe an outside the box idea would be to try to force some equity by making some improvements in the house you live in.

Furthermore, @Dave Meyer has a YouTube show/podcast on market trends for your reference.