They've expressed difficulties in paying rent, and I'm looking for some creative ideas on how to structure payments or any strategies to ensure we can successfully complete the lease term.I've noticed that my local rental market has seen a decrease of around $125 a month, so it's highly likely that I'll need to lower the rent once the lease is up.

Analyzed deal and big up to $50K over list price.Cap went from 8.39 -> 13.08, GRM went from 7.43 -> 5.75, expenses decreased 15%, income increased 24%, debt income went from 1.17 -> 1.82.

The numbers certainly don't meet my ideal criteria, however, when the second side is rented it would drastically decrease our monthly expenses and a newbie has to start somewhere.

Decrease expenses and increase earnings.

Provincial and divisive comments like yours do not encourage participation due to the lack of respect they show for others who may have a differing opinion from you and thus harm all members of the community by decreasing participation. 

If the seller is down one tenant, I decrease the offer price based on a year's rent that the unit should produce.

Its true that there is a big push in the past 6 months for hospitals to decrease the use of contractors, but ultimately there are unique dynamics at CMMC in particular that will create an ongoing need for temp workers.  

The alternative is bleak: undesirable areas with decreased demand for housing which causes declining property values and a high percentage of homeowners that have negative equity.

Also, this opens up the avenue of real estate investing because as the property appreciates and your mortgage decreases, overtime the rental income will slowly change into cash flow.Hope this helps!

It's ok to just decrease your living expenses while you're in it but it should cash flow once you move out.