MB 270: Partner Up & Push Through Adversity – With Gary Van Bortel & John Bilinski

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s easy to talk yourself out of your first multifamily deal. Working through obstacle after obstacle alone wears on a first-time syndicator, and you feel like giving up. But if you partner with another investor, you don’t want to let each other down. And you push through adversity, showing up with a kind of tenacity you may not have had on your own. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Gary Van Bortel and John Bilinski are the syndication team behind</span> <a href= "https://roccapitalgroup.com/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">ROC Capital Group</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, a multifamily investment firm out of Rochester, New York. Gary and John have 30 years of investing experience between them, building individual portfolios of single family and small multifamily properties before partnering on their first apartment syndication in 2020, a $1M raise for 48-unit deal in Syracuse. Gary and John are also the organizers of the</span> <a href= "https://www.meetup.com/Upstate-Commercial-Apartment-Investors-Group/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Upstate Commercial Apartment Investors Meetup</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On this episode of Apartment Building Investing, Gary and John join cohost Garrett Lynch and me to explain why they decided to work together, describing how a partnership motivates you to keep moving forward—even when a deal gets hairy. Gary and John discuss how they connected with potential investors through a local Meetup and share how they got investors to commit to their first deal. Listen in for insight on pushing through when things don’t go according to plan (I’m looking at you, COVID) and learn to leverage a strong partnership to work through obstacles together.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p> <h3>Key Takeaways<span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">How