Connecticut Broker’s New Program Helps Landlords Navigate Rent Increases Without Losing Tenants

Rob Marucci’s “Landlord Tune-Up” service addresses decade-old rental rates as Connecticut landlords face doubled expenses since COVID

A Connecticut real estate broker has launched a service addressing a common landlord problem: rental properties with longtime tenants paying rates established years ago, while property expenses have doubled since the pandemic.

Rob Marucci, broker-owner of Better Living Realty LLC, created his “Landlord Tune-Up Program” after recognizing landlords struggle with a simple task—asking tenants for rent increases.

“It’s very hard to have that conversation with tenants,” says Marucci, who owns 14 rental properties himself. “They’ve been your tenants for 10 years. You know they’re way below market value, but it’s hard to have that conversation.”

The program positions Better Living Realty as a third-party intermediary who contacts tenants, schedules property safety inspections, and negotiates rent adjustments that Marucci describes as “happy medium” increases—not full market rates, but corrections that acknowledge economic realities.

The Economics Behind Deferred Increases

The need stems from converging factors. Connecticut rents have nearly doubled in many markets since COVID. Property insurance has roughly doubled. Taxes continue climbing. Winter plowing costs can reach thousands of dollars for larger storms.

Meanwhile, landlords with stable, responsible tenants often avoid raising rents to preserve relationships—creating growing gaps between actual rents and market rates as expenses rise.

Marucci’s cousin exemplified the problem. Five properties, all with tenants paying below-market rates. One single-family home rented for $1,250 monthly when comparable properties commanded $2,200 to $2,500. After nearly a decade of static rent, the landlord needed increases but didn’t want to risk losing quality tenants.

Better Living Realty’s approach involved contacting tenants as hired representatives, citing safety inspections and lease updates. During property walkthroughs, Marucci assessed actual conditions, identified needed repairs, and opened conversations about rent adjustments.

For the single-family property, market rate would justify jumping to $2,200. Instead, Marucci negotiated $1,600—a $350 monthly increase that added $4,200 in annual revenue while remaining well below what tenants would pay elsewhere.

“The tenant was very happy. The owner was very happy,” Marucci says. “He doesn’t have to deal with potentially getting a new tenant that you don’t know what you’re going to get.”

Across five properties, the landlord gained approximately $1,500 in total monthly increases—$18,000 annually. Better Living Realty charges one month of the increase amount, making the service fee $1,500 with no upfront cost.

Sweetening the Adjustment

The program includes identifying improvements that make increases more acceptable. When one tenant requested new kitchen flooring, the landlord agreed, recognizing the minor expense justified long-term revenue gains.

“It does make the increase easier for a tenant if they are getting something in return,” Marucci notes.

Marucci emphasizes the program doesn’t pursue full market rates, which might prompt tenants to search for alternatives. When tenants do explore options, they typically return accepting proposed increases after discovering market realities.

“We’re not trying to kick tenants out,” he explains. “It’s a responsible increase. They go look for houses, the houses are double the price, and then they come back and say, okay, I’m okay with that increase.”

Target Market and Timing

The program targets landlords with multiple properties held for extended periods, where longtime tenants pay rates from 5-10 years ago. The service is available statewide in Connecticut through Better Living Realty’s 30 agents.

Marucci reports unexpected tenant reactions during initial rollout. Rather than resistance, many tenants expressed relief that increases were finally being addressed professionally.

“Surprisingly, they went really well and the tenants expected this,” Marucci says. “It’s almost like they’re like, ‘Why wasn’t this done earlier?’”

The program launches as Connecticut landlords face compounding expense pressures with limited revenue adjustment. While vacancy rates remain low and quality tenants scarce, economic sustainability requires correcting decade-old rental rates that no longer reflect operating costs.

For landlords who’ve deferred difficult conversations while watching expenses climb, Marucci’s third-party approach offers a path to necessary adjustments without risking tenant relationships or triggering vacancies in a tight rental market.

About Rob Marucci
Rob Marucci is founder and broker-owner of Better Living Realty LLC in Connecticut. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Connecticut and owns 14 rental properties in addition to operating the 30-agent brokerage.

The Real Estate Media Intelligence Gap: Niche Publishers Are Filling the Space Between Data and Decision-Making

Traditional real estate media excels at covering deals, lawsuits, and market data. But a new category of publishers is emerging to fill a persistent gap: the qualitative intelligence layer that exists between what the data shows and what decision-makers need to know.

“One article has value on its own,” explains Steve Marcinuk, founder of KeyCrew Media, a real estate-focused media intelligence network. “But as a data point in a much broader ecosystem – as a contribution to how investors and operators understand markets – it has unique value that goes beyond traditional journalism.”

This approach represents a fundamental rethinking of what niche business media can accomplish in an era where technology enables small teams to conduct thousands of expert interviews and publish high-quality content at previously impossible volumes.

The Intelligence That Data Misses

When an institutional investor evaluates a multifamily opportunity or considers market implications, the hard data tells only part of the story. What are boots-on-the-ground brokers actually hearing from buyers? Where are capital allocators quietly shifting their strategies? Which markets are showing signs of movement that won’t appear in data for another quarter?

“We love talking to people who aren’t just predicting rain, but actually building the ark,” Marcinuk says. “These sources are giving us directional intelligence – where they’re shifting their strategies and where their clients are shifting theirs.”

This type of insight has always been valuable. What’s changed is the ability to capture it systematically at scale and distribute it through channels that can reach exponentially larger audiences than traditional media models allow.

A 15-Year Evolution

Marcinuk has spent his career in digital media and PR technology, working across ventures that analyzed hundreds of millions of articles. The consistent challenge? Exceptional expertise struggling to break through the noise.

“We worked with smaller teams and startup companies who had compelling stories and voices that deserved amplification,” Marcinuk explains. “You’re pitching established outlets that receive hundreds of pitches daily. Unless you’re a publicly traded company with major news, it’s incredibly competitive.”

Rather than continuing to fight for placement, Marcinuk’s latest venture takes a different approach: build your own media network focused on expert-sourced intelligence, then aggressively distribute that content through every available channel – including the AI platforms that traditional publishers are resisting.

The Additive Model

KeyCrew Media operates six focused publications reaching tens of thousands of real estate professionals and decision-makers. But Marcinuk is careful to position this work as complementary to established real estate media.

“I actually see what we’re doing as additive to the real estate media ecosystem,” he notes. “Established brands do a fantastic job covering announcements and day-to-day beats. That’s undeniably needed.”

What KeyCrew focuses on instead is market coverage of trends – the insights that help decision-makers understand what’s coming before it appears in transaction data or quarterly reports.

Technology as Amplifier

Generative AI and workflow automation enable KeyCrew’s lean team to conduct interviews, identify trends, and publish content at volumes that would have required much larger traditional editorial operations.

“The real acceleration comes from the fact that we’re not just a publisher – we’re enthusiastically licensing and syndicating our content,” Marcinuk says.

The company is entering into agreements with local media outlets, trade publications, business journals, and, notably, directly with AI platforms.

While some traditional publishers view AI platforms as threats, KeyCrew sees them as distribution channels that can amplify expert voices to audiences virtually impossible to reach through traditional outreach.

“We’re seeing better traction than anything I’ve done in my 15-year career,” Marcinuk notes. “Our sources are delighted to have a megaphone for their market insights, and our content licensing partners tell us this type of intelligence doesn’t exist at the quality and volume we’re able to create.”

The Broader Trend

KeyCrew’s model may represent an emerging category of niche business media: publishers that use technology to systematically capture expert intelligence at scale, then aggressively distribute it through both traditional and emerging channels.

The approach works because it aligns incentives. Sources gain visibility. Audiences get intelligence that helps them make better decisions. Content licensing partners access high-quality material at volume. And the publisher builds a sustainable model based on distribution rather than solely on advertising or subscriptions.

As AI platforms continue to reshape how people discover and consume business intelligence, publishers that embrace this shift – while maintaining editorial quality and proper attribution – may find themselves better positioned than those clinging to traditional distribution models.

KeyCrew Media is a real estate media intelligence network operating six focused publications that serve investors, operators, and decision-makers across residential and commercial real estate. Through expert-sourced content and strategic distribution partnerships, KeyCrew provides qualitative market insights that bridge the gap between data and decision-making.

The New Luxury: How International Real Estate Is Redefining Retirement and Lifestyle Investment

Americans Discover Panama Offers More Than Financial Returns

Luxury investment strategies are evolving beyond traditional markers of high-end watches, exotic cars, and domestic real estate portfolios. A growing cohort of affluent Americans is discovering that international lifestyle properties deliver experiences and opportunities that domestic investments simply cannot match. Panama has emerged as a compelling destination where investment returns intertwine with enhanced quality of life.

Ashley Luther, partner at Nashville-based CHORD Real Estate, represents this new breed of lifestyle-focused investor. Her perspective reveals how international real estate investment has shifted from purely financial calculation to holistic life design.

Beyond Numbers: The Lifestyle ROI

Traditional real estate investment analysis focuses on cap rates, appreciation projections, and rental yields. Lifestyle investors add additional considerations: daily living quality, cultural richness, climate preferences, and experiential value that balance sheets cannot capture.

Luther’s first impression of Panama City exceeded expectations, revealing possibilities for cosmopolitan living that promotional materials had undersold. Yet Panama offers more than just one lifestyle option. Luther highlights the country’s remarkable diversity: “If you love the mountain region, if you love cooler temperatures and maybe coffee, you should explore the Boquete region. If you want white sands and crystal clear blue waters, let’s go explore the Caribbean coast.”

This geographic variety within a small, accessible country enables investors to match properties precisely to lifestyle preferences rather than compromising.

The Daily Realities That Matter

Luther emphasizes that successful international lifestyle investment requires understanding daily living rhythms, not just touring showcase properties. During her Panama visits, she systematically evaluated walkability to amenities, dining options, grocery stores, pharmacy access, and outdoor activities.

“We quickly found that everything was a short walking distance from wherever we were staying,” Luther explains. This walkability particularly appealed to health-conscious Americans accustomed to car-dependent suburban life. Luther adopted a routine of morning runs along Panama City‘s oceanfront, discovering that “people in Panama are very focused on their health and being outdoors and eating healthy, eating local.”

These lifestyle observations carry as much weight as financial projections for investors prioritizing how they’ll actually spend their days.

Cultural and Culinary Appeal

For affluent Americans, dining quality significantly impacts lifestyle satisfaction. Luther found Panama’s culinary scene exceeded Nashville’s despite the latter’s growing foodie reputation. “Panama has such a diverse wide array of dining options. I think it’s because it’s a multinational hub and there are so many people from all over the world there.”

She recounts a memorable multi-course French dinner in Panama City costing just $40 for two people, a price point that “doesn’t even get you a lunch at a barbecue restaurant” in Nashville.

Shopping similarly impressed Luther, particularly Panama City’s upscale malls featuring major international brands often absent from mid-tier American cities.

The Casco Viejo Factor

Luther reserves particular enthusiasm for Casco Viejo, Panama City’s restored historic district. “Casco has my heart, truly. I hope to, when we move there, live in Casco,” she shares.

The neighborhood combines Spanish colonial architecture, cobblestone streets, plaza-centered community life, and a mix of high-end restaurants, artisan shops, and cultural venues. This emotional connection to place represents a crucial element of lifestyle investment that purely financial calculations miss.

Redefining Retirement Timelines

Interestingly, Luther and her husband’s Panama investment doesn’t fit traditional retirement timelines. As active business owners, they’re designing a lifestyle that blends work and leisure in a more appealing setting rather than planning conventional retirement.

“We’re business owners, so we’ll probably never fully retire, but spend a lot of time there,” Luther explains. This reflects broader trends among affluent professionals who reject binary work/retirement models in favor of lifestyle design that begins earlier.

Investment Meets Experience

The financial case for Panama remains solid: dollar-based currency, accessible residency programs, strong healthcare infrastructure, and appreciation potential. But Luther’s enthusiasm stems as much from experiential factors.

“You could go golfing and shopping and hiking in a rainforest, hiking a mountain, get a spa treatment and have this wonderful dinner experience, all in a day,” she notes. This concentration of lifestyle amenities within compact geography enables variety that sprawling countries cannot easily match.

Luther’s approach represents evolving thinking among affluent Americans about wealth deployment. Rather than accumulating assets purely for accumulation’s sake, lifestyle investors ask how resources can enable richer daily experiences, cultural immersion, and life quality improvements alongside financial returns.

This holistic approach, where lifestyle considerations receive equal weight with financial projections, marks a fundamental shift in how sophisticated investors think about international real estate opportunities.

CHORD Real Estate hosts its Invest Panama Summit May 28-30, 2026, at Hotel La Compañía in Panama City. Information: chordrealestate.com/investpanamasummit.

RichType Pierre Tha Great: The Dual-Base Innovator Bridging Louisiana and Texas Hip-Hop

In the evolving landscape of Southern rap, a new powerhouse is rising by connecting two of the most influential musical corridors in the world. RichType Pierre Tha Great is a New Orleans/Houston dual-based artist who is redefining the Gulf Coast sound in real time. By merging the brass-heavy, rhythmic soul of Louisiana with the bold, high-octane energy of Texas hip-hop, RichType has created a cultural crossover that’s beginning to resonate far beyond regional borders.

As the pioneer of Brap (Brass Rap), RichType has moved past local tradition to build a nationwide independent movement. He is no longer just a voice of the Crescent City — he has become a regional architect, merging the spirit of Louisiana and Texas into a singular, innovative musical identity.

Now officially stamped as a new household name in Louisiana and a future household name in Texas, RichType is solidifying his place in Southern music history through consistency, volume, and vision. This isn’t hype — it’s momentum backed by measurable impact.

A Breakout Year Defined by Action

The current year has cemented RichType’s status as a mainstream force operating with independent freedom. His recent accomplishments separate him from the pack:

• The 50-State Sweep: Verified listenership in at least one city or town across all 50 U.S. states.
• Prolific Output: 30 songs released in just 90 days, including a rapid-fire run of 10 tracks in January alone.
• Award Recognition: Leading nominee for Best Radio Hit in the 2026 regional awards for his breakout single, “They All On My Six.”
• Airwave Dominance: Alongside “They All On My Six,” his tracks “U Know Wasshappenin” and “Salvation” are currently in heavy rotation on radio stations nationwide.

These milestones reflect an artist who isn’t waiting for validation — he’s building his own lane and inviting the world to follow.

A Global Geographic Footprint

RichType’s growing “RichType Army” stretches far beyond the I-10 corridor. While his foundation remains rooted in New Orleans and Houston, his reach is now international.

United States: New Orleans (HQ), Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, Phoenix, New York City, Philadelphia

International: London, Berlin, Paris, Bangkok, Tokyo — plus expanding presence in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and South Africa

This isn’t just streaming data — it’s proof of a movement crossing borders.

Artist Vision: Fusing Two Legacies

RichType’s sound operates as a sonic bridge, blending the intricate brass textures of New Orleans with the unmistakable swagger of Houston rap. This Brass-Fusion approach is intentional, cultural, and genre-fluid — a reflection of where he’s from and where he’s headed.

Artist Statement:

“My music is a reflection of growth, legacy, and transformation — rooted in the streets of New Orleans and the energy of Houston, but rising toward global greatness.”

Media & Press Angle

The Hook:
The I-10 Innovator — how RichType Pierre Tha Great is merging Louisiana and Texas hip-hop cultures to become the first truly dual-base Southern superstar.

With momentum accelerating and visibility expanding daily, RichType Pierre Tha Great is no longer emerging — he has arrived. Officially stamped as Louisiana’s newest household name and Texas’s next, he represents a new era of Southern independence, cultural fusion, and fearless productivity.

Music & Official Links

• Official Website: richtypepierredagreat1.com
• Apple Music: RichType Profile
• Spotify: Official Artist Page
• YouTube: @RichTypePierreThaGreat
• Instagram: @pierrethegreat93

STRATAFOLIO Reveals Commercial Real Estate’s Silent Profit Drain: The Cost of Managing by Spreadsheet

Commercial property owners are losing substantial revenue to a problem they often don’t recognize until someone examines their operations closely. While the industry has modernized tenant communication, property marketing, and deal analysis, portfolio management frequently remains stuck in systems designed decades ago.

The disconnect between advanced technology and basic operational tools creates financial vulnerabilities that appear consistently across portfolios of every size and market.

A Pattern That Spans Markets and Portfolio Sizes

According to Jeri Frank, co-founder of STRATAFOLIO, the same operational gaps appear whether she’s reviewing a small family office in Tennessee or a hundred-million-dollar portfolio in California. The company works extensively with property owners across Florida, Texas, California, and Tennessee, and the challenges remain remarkably similar regardless of location or portfolio value.

“The majority of the clients that, when they’re initially reaching out to us, are only using QuickBooks and spreadsheets to manage tens of millions of dollars in assets,” Frank explains. “Sometimes it’s hundreds of millions of dollars and assets in QuickBooks and spreadsheets. That is not the way you manage or grow a portfolio efficiently or successfully.”

When reviewing new client financial data, Frank sees immediate red flags. Profit and loss statements contain too many accounts. Expenses get misclassified as income, or vice versa. Most concerning, tenant deposits arrive matching expected amounts, but no one verifies whether those amounts are actually correct based on current lease terms.

Three Critical Vulnerabilities

Frank has identified three problems that appear across virtually every commercial real estate portfolio operating without purpose-built management systems. These issues affect owners regardless of their experience level, market sophistication, or portfolio size.

Missing Lease Escalations

Commercial leases typically include scheduled rent increases at specified intervals. Property owners often assume tenants will automatically adjust their payments when escalation dates arrive. The reality differs significantly.

Tenants continue paying previous rates, deposits keep arriving on schedule, and without systematic verification, the discrepancy goes undetected for months or even years. When owners finally discover the gap, the recovery process becomes awkward.

“The hard part about that is that if you, as the owner, have now missed this for one month or a year, it gets really awkward to go back and collect that,” Frank notes. Rather than confront tenants about the oversight and signal a lack of operational control, many owners simply absorb the loss and implement the correct rate going forward.

Inadequate CAM Reconciliation

Common Area Maintenance reconciliation requires property owners with triple net leases to compare budgeted operating expenses against actual costs annually. Tenants pay their proportional share of taxes, insurance, and common area maintenance as additional rent beyond their base lease rate. At year end, owners should reconcile budgeted amounts against actual expenses and adjust accordingly.

When this process fails, gets delayed, or relies on outdated tracking methods, owners lose visibility into what they should actually be collecting from tenants.

“If you don’t do that work, you don’t really know what you should be charging those tenants,” Frank emphasizes. “And if you’re not collecting it all, that means that’s coming off of your bottom line.”

This problem has intensified in recent years. Florida, Texas, and California have experienced dramatic increases in insurance costs and property taxes, making accurate and timely reconciliation more critical than ever. What might have been a minor discrepancy in previous years can now represent substantial uncollected revenue.

Expired Insurance Certificates

Commercial tenants typically must maintain three to five different insurance policies as lease requirements and provide updated certificates of insurance annually. Property owners must track these certificates and ensure policies remain current.

Frank consistently finds that tracking systems are months or years out of date, with certificates showing policies that may have already lapsed.

“It is shocking,” Frank admits. “But it is a fair number of people we talk to. It has happened where somebody’s insurance has lapsed, and that would be a breach of contract, but it doesn’t always get caught until a tragedy happens.”

This creates significant liability exposure. Property owners may incorrectly assume their tenants maintain required coverage when policies have actually expired, leaving the owner vulnerable if damage or loss occurs.

The Generational Transfer Challenge

These operational vulnerabilities become particularly acute during ownership transitions. As the silver tsunami continues transforming commercial real estate ownership, Frank regularly encounters portfolios where critical information exists only in aging spreadsheets or in the memories of retiring owners.

“We had a client who was in his late 70s and had a substantial real estate portfolio, and he passed,” Frank recalls. “A lot of leases started in the 70s, and there are some big gaps. Sometimes somebody just has to make a call and say, here’s what it is, and at the earliest opportunity, a new lease should be written.”

Informal agreements and handshake deals that worked for previous generations create enormous challenges for incoming family members or partners. Without documented lease terms, accessible records, or institutional knowledge transfer, properties may continue renting at rates far below market value simply because no one can verify original agreements or locate supporting documentation.

In some cases, the documentation problems become so severe that legal intervention becomes necessary just to establish clear ownership and lease terms.

The Accounting Complexity

The financial management challenges extend beyond missed deadlines and lost documentation. When Frank reviews new client QuickBooks data, she often finds fundamental accounting issues that prevent accurate portfolio management.

“We see a lot of people struggling with how to do CAM reconciliation accurately,” Frank explains. “Sometimes, when expenses are getting recorded, they are not clear on their non-reimbursable versus reimbursable expenses. When that expense gets posted to the wrong account, it makes CAM reconciliation very, very difficult and muddy.”

These classification errors create cascading problems. Office utilities recorded in the same account as tenant utilities make clean separation between overhead costs and reimbursable expenses nearly impossible. Each misclassification compounds through subsequent financial reports, reconciliation attempts, and tenant invoicing.

Charts of accounts become bloated with too many categories, making financial reporting unclear. Or conversely, too few accounts prevent proper expense tracking and allocation. Either approach creates barriers to accurate portfolio management.

The Broader Impact

The financial impact of these operational gaps extends well beyond immediate revenue losses. Property owners who approach lenders for financing or refinancing must provide portfolio documentation. Delays in producing rent rolls or financial reports, or errors in submitted documentation, raise questions about management competence.

Tenants who receive inconsistent invoicing or reconciliation reports delivered months late begin questioning the professionalism of their landlord. In commercial real estate, where relationships matter and reputation affects long-term success, these perceptions carry significant weight.

The reputational costs accumulate slowly but create substantial long-term consequences in an industry fundamentally built on trust and relationships.

The Modernization Imperative

Commercial real estate has readily adopted technology for market analysis, property tours, and tenant communication. Portfolio management represents a critical area where modernization remains incomplete for many owner operators.

The typical approach relies on calendar reminders, disconnected spreadsheets, and institutional knowledge held by one or two key team members. As portfolios grow and regulatory requirements increase, this manual approach creates exponentially more opportunities for costly errors.

Property owners in 2026 face a clear choice. They can continue managing with tools designed for general accounting rather than commercial real estate complexity, accepting the ongoing revenue losses and operational risks. Or they can implement purpose-built systems designed specifically for commercial portfolio management.

The question is no longer whether such systems provide value. The question is how much revenue owners will lose before implementing them.

For property owners managing multiple entities, dozens of tenants, and complex lease structures across various properties, spreadsheet management has become a liability rather than a solution. The tools that worked for simpler portfolios or previous generations no longer scale to meet current demands.