Referral, Not Representation

Moving to Barstow, California?

My licence stops at the Florida line. My usefulness does not have to.

Referral only

Where my licence stops

A referral fee is not a finder’s fee and it is not something you pay. It is a share of the commission the California brokerage earns on a transaction it closes, paid across to The Keyes Company under an agreement signed between the two firms before you are ever introduced. Nothing is added to your closing statement, and nothing arises at all unless a transaction completes. I set this out early because the word “referral” has been used to describe several quite different arrangements, and you are entitled to know which one you are being offered.

Where I stop, on purpose

I will not send your details to several agents at once to see which one bites. One introduction, to one named brokerage, after a conversation with the person at the other end. If it turns out to be the wrong fit I would rather go back and make a second introduction than have set four strangers racing each other with your telephone number.

How the introduction gets made

Step 1

A short call, no form

Ten minutes, usually. Where you are going, roughly when, buying or selling, and anything that has already gone wrong. You are not being qualified on that call and there is nothing on this page for you to fill in.

Step 2

A referral in writing

The introduction is papered between the two brokerages before you are put in touch, so the terms are settled in advance rather than negotiated around you afterwards. You are not a party to that document and you sign nothing.

Step 3

You meet them uncommitted

The first conversation with the Barstow licensee commits you to nothing whatever. Anything you sign later you sign with them, after reading it, and preferably not on the day you first speak to them.

Structural differences worth knowing before you go

  • Real estate licensing is state by state. An agent licensed in Florida cannot represent you in California, and a California licensee cannot represent you in Florida.
  • Leaving Florida means picking up a state income tax in California. Model it against the housing number before you settle on a price range, and take the actual arithmetic to a tax adviser rather than to any real estate agent, including me.
  • Title works differently for married couples in California, which is a community property state. It affects how you may hold the property and what happens to cost basis on a first death. That is a conversation for an attorney in California, and it is better had before closing than after.
  • Closings in California are generally handled through a title or escrow company rather than by an attorney as a matter of course, which is closer to the Florida pattern than not.
  • Neither the homestead exemption nor the Save Our Homes cap travels with you out of Florida. California sets its own assessment rules, its own exemptions and its own limit on how fast a bill can rise — confirm the specifics with the local taxing authority rather than assuming a Florida analogue exists.

What to ask the agent I introduce you to

  • What are the property tax mechanics — how is assessment set, when does it reset after a sale, and what exemptions exist?
  • If I need to back out, what actually happens to my deposit under a standard California contract?
  • How are deposits handled in California — who holds the money, what amount is customary, and at what point does it stop being refundable? Get that answer before you write the cheque rather than after.
  • When an inspection turns something up, what is the local practice — a price reduction, a credit at closing, or the seller arranging the work — and who conducts that negotiation on my behalf?

The half of this I can actually do

If you already have a Florida agent you trust, keep them. The referral stands on its own and does not require you to move your Florida business to me. Tell me on the first call and I will make the introduction and step back out of it. That is a shorter conversation than the other one, and it costs you exactly the same, which is nothing.

Other cities in California

Questions people actually ask

Do I need a California licence to be referred?

No — that requirement falls on the agent, not on you. The licensee I introduce you to will hold a current California licence and will represent you under California law.

What if I am moving to Florida rather than away from it?

Then there is no referral to make — that is my licence and my market. Start on the About page instead.

How do you choose who to refer me to?

I look for someone whose recent, actual work resembles your transaction — price band, property type, and whether they handle relocations regularly. I speak to them before I pass on your name.

How is this different from the sites that match me with an agent?

Put the same two questions to any of them and compare the answers: how many people receive my details, and who pays you. Here the answers are one named brokerage, and the receiving brokerage pays The Keyes Company a share of its own commission if a transaction closes. Neither arrangement is illegitimate. They are simply not the same thing, and you are entitled to know which one you are in.

How do I time a Florida sale against a purchase in Barstow?

Deliberately, and from the start. The two closings are separate contracts and nobody controls both, so the work is in keeping each side informed of the other’s dates. If I am handling the Florida sale, I will speak to your California agent about the calendar directly. Where the dates cannot be made to meet, the usual instruments are a rent-back or interim financing, and both are cheaper to plan than to arrange in a hurry.

The next step is a phone call

Two things start this: the city, and the month it has to happen by. Everything else can be worked out on the call.

Tell me about the move Moving to Florida instead?

Jacob Campbell · Florida Real Estate Sales Associate, license 3623732 · The Keyes Company · Licensed in Florida only — referrals outside Florida are made to independently licensed agents in your state.

Who I refer to

What I can describe is the process, which exists whether or not a particular agreement has been signed. Who it lands on is decided per transaction, not per quarter.

It runs through The Keyes Company, which is what makes the arrangement lawful and what makes any fee traceable. Within that, the choice of who is a judgement about fit, made once I know what your transaction actually is.

Three things stay true whoever it turns out to be:

  • They will hold a current licence in the state where your transaction happens, and they will represent you under that state’s law — not under Florida’s, and not under mine.
  • Any referral fee is paid brokerage to brokerage, out of the commission on a closed transaction. It costs you nothing and it does not increase what you pay. Under Section 475.42(1)(d), Florida Statutes, any share reaching me comes from my broker and from nowhere else.
  • You are under no obligation to use them. Interview them, interview someone else, or decline entirely. If the fit is wrong, tell me and I will go back and look again.

As referral relationships are formalised, the brokerages involved will be named here, together with their licence number and the regulator that issued it, so you can verify them yourself rather than take my word for it.

Referral disclosure

  • I am licensed in Florida only. I will not act as your real estate agent in any other state, and nothing on this page is an offer to represent you outside Florida. Your agent in your state will be licensed there and will represent you under that state’s law.
  • A referral fee may be paid. If a referred transaction closes, the receiving brokerage may pay a referral fee to The Keyes Company, and The Keyes Company may in turn compensate me. Under Section 475.42(1)(d), Florida Statutes, a sales associate may be paid only by his registered broker, so any payment reaches me that way and no other.
  • It costs you nothing. You are not charged for a referral. A referral fee is paid between brokerages out of the commission on the transaction and does not increase what you pay.
  • Commissions are negotiable. Broker compensation is not set by law and is negotiable between you and the brokerage that represents you, in every state.
  • No guarantee. I can introduce you to a licensed professional and give you my honest read. I cannot promise any outcome, price, timeline, or level of service, and I do not supervise or control the agent or brokerage you choose.
  • Real estate brokerage referrals only. This page covers real estate brokerage referrals only. It is not a referral to any lender, title company, insurer, or other settlement service provider.
  • Equal Housing Opportunity. Referrals are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, disability, or any other class protected by federal, state, or local fair housing law.