Mr. Riney got his taste for real estate when, as a senior at Boston University, he leased out his four-bedroom apartment to a group of sophomores at a $3,000 profit. He continued selling and leasing apartments in Boston during 2005, before making the move to New York City three years later.
Mr. Riney interviewed with CB Richard Ellis and Jones Lang LaSalle before sitting down with Mr. Parker and Mr. Felson for an interview at Marcus & Millichap’s Court Street office in downtown Brooklyn.
Another young broker was hired at the same time as Mr. Riney. Mr. Felson initially had his doubts about the young man from Detroit while holding a torch for the other hire. A year later, however, Mr. Riney and Mr. Felson had their profitable partnership, while the other hire had dropped out of the business entirely.
“[Riney is] not afraid of rejection in a business where you’re on purely a commission base,” said Mr. Felson, 28, who is now a senior vice president at Prado, a San Francisco-based real estate company. “I’d seen many guys come in and fall out of the business in six months because they couldn’t deal with hearing the word ‘no.’ He was really undeterred.”
And he’s made himself at home with Marcus & Millichap. Mr. Riney, a lifelong Newcastle United fan, plays on the Brooklyn Football Club with Mr. Parker and other colleagues at the firm.
He also has no plans to leave Brooklyn.
“My game plan is to continue to expand in northern Brooklyn,” said Mr. Riney. “There is a ton of untapped value in the Brooklyn marketplace, in these Brooklyn buildings, and I want to be a part of that.”
drosen@observer.com
