Florida Licence · California Introduction

Before you choose an agent in Campbell, read this

You are not a lead here. You are a phone call I have to make properly.

Referral only

First, the limitation

One thing to check before you let me introduce anyone. If your move is being paid for by an employer, or you are using a benefit programme attached to your work or your service, read that programme’s terms first. Some of them require you to register with them before you speak to any agent and will not pay out if you have already committed to someone. That is not a rule I control and it is not a reason to avoid a referral — it is a reason to make one telephone call in the right order.

What I do once you call

Step 1

A short conversation

What is prompting the move, when it has to happen, and whether there is a Florida property on the other side of it. That last one changes what I can do for you.

Step 2

A deliberate search

I look for a licensee in Campbell whose day-to-day work resembles your transaction. Then I speak to them before I hand over your name.

Step 3

A clean handoff

You get an introduction and the reasoning behind it. If you do not like them, tell me and I will go back and look again.

Things that surprise people moving out of Florida

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.
California levies a tax on income; Florida does not. It is a change worth modelling against the housing cost before you commit to a price range, and it is a question for your own tax adviser rather than for any real estate agent.
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.
Florida’s homestead exemption and its Save Our Homes assessment cap do not follow you. California has its own property tax treatment, its own exemptions, and its own rules on how fast an assessment may rise. Confirm the specifics with the local taxing authority.

Things I am going to refuse

I will not read your California contract and tell you it looks fine. I do not know that state’s standard form, its local addenda, or what its courts have made of the wording, and a Florida licensee’s reassurance about a contract in another state is worth precisely nothing. Put it to the agent, and where the sums are significant, put it to an attorney licensed where the property is.

What I would ask if I were you

How do you handle it when you represent both sides of a transaction, and what does California law allow there?
What is the local convention on inspection and financing contingency periods, and how tight are people making them right now?
Have you worked with buyers who were selling in another state at the same time? Ask for the mechanics of how they handled it rather than for a reassurance that they have.
If the property is listed by your own brokerage, what happens to my representation, what does California law permit in that situation, and what exactly would you be asking me to sign?

The Florida side of a two-state move

If what you are leaving is a condominium or a house inside an association, the Florida side has a queue attached to it. Estoppel letters, association approval, and the building’s inspection and reserve documents where those apply — none of it moves at the speed of a buyer who wants to close in thirty days. Starting that paperwork while you are still deciding about Campbell is the cheapest thing you can do for your own timeline.

Other cities in California

Questions people actually ask

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.

Can you represent me in Campbell?

No. My licence is issued by Florida and is valid in Florida only. Representing you in a California transaction would be unlicensed activity there. What I can do is refer you to a licensee in California through The Keyes Company.

What does a referral cost me?

Nothing. You are not charged for a referral. If a referred transaction closes, a referral fee may be paid between the two brokerages out of the commission on that transaction. It does not increase what you pay.

Who actually pays you?

Only my broker can. Under Section 475.42(1)(d), Florida Statutes, a sales associate may be compensated only by the registered broker. Any referral fee is paid to The Keyes Company, and The Keyes Company may in turn compensate me. There is no direct payment from you or from the California agent to me.

Am I obliged to use the agent you introduce?

No. A referral is an introduction. You can interview them, interview others, and decline. If they are not right, tell me and I will look again.

Tell me the city and the timeline

If there is a Florida property in this, mention it first. It changes what I am able to do rather than merely how I do it.

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 takes it from here

Most referral pages open with a wall of logos. Mine does not, because a logo tells you a marketing agreement exists and tells you nothing about whether the person you end up with is any good.

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.