Maybe it's conjecture on my part, but I think a good agent (good being the operative word) would have encouraged you to start by offering lower and saved you more than 2.5%. 

So I would encourage you to adjust your expectations starting out and develop the discipline of saving money so that every month your net worth is higher than the month before.

However, I emphasized the importance of open communication and encouraged them to reach out proactively if they foresee any challenges with future rent payments.

You could start a PM company that handles subsidized housing program recipients primarily but I am not sure of the economics of that as it is not my specialty.

Thank you Pat for the encouragement and advice!

Do you have a word of encouragement for the people that are now popping up and saying they bought into it and regret it?

I strongly encourage finding a fairly priced, knowledgable accountant you can trust. 

Property owners' and managers' sole recourse for encouraging residents to pay is unavailable.

One thing of encouragement is I have many personal friends and clients invested in Western and their values are up almost 300K with larger rent increases as well so I m hoping you have experienced the same results!

I highly encourage all my tenants to keep open communication with me about any struggles to pay rent, and generally they do.