The work around was a Mexican bank was the owner and lease it to the foreigner.

So no leasing agent, no maintenance. 

In NY, NJ, CT, PA, MA the security deposit is regulated, as well as how much you can collect at lease signing. 

If an appeal is won, but the unit was already leased, their approval is good for a similar property for 60 (90?

We’re experiencing the same for our unit on a 6 month lease and suspect it’s due to the time of the year.

I leased out my unit and moved back home to take care of them.

We then leased the home out to a long-term resident who signed a multi-year lease.

But once I got the bills, I increased the rent with the tenant's approval and signed an addendum to the lease stating the rent increase would be X and the owner would take over utilities.

New landlord and she's still not paying rent probably because she knows she has a lot of time before you get everything together (proof of non-payment, copies of lease, etc), before you can evict her.

A lease will not guarantee that your tenant will pay rent.The more active and proactive you are, the better everything will go.