Out-of-State Introduction
Buying in Hewitt? I will introduce you to someone licensed there.
What I can do for a Hewitt move, stated plainly and without the sales gloss.
Referral onlyStructural 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.
- 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.
- California is a community property state. How a married couple may take title, and what happens to cost basis on the first death, follow different rules than in Florida. Raise it with your attorney before closing, not after.
- Closings in California generally run through a title or escrow company rather than requiring an attorney as a matter of course — structurally closer to what you are used to in Florida 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.
Three steps, and what each one commits you to
Ask me what I get out of it
A fair question, and the answer is on this page. If a referred transaction closes, the receiving brokerage may pay a fee to The Keyes Company, which may in turn compensate me. If nothing closes, nothing is paid. You pay nothing in either case, and there is no invoice at the end of this.
I call, you hear the reasoning
You are told why this person rather than another one: what their recent work looks like, how they answered the questions I put to them, and anything about the conversation that gave me pause. You can weigh that yourself.
Say no at any point
Before the introduction, after it, or three conversations in. There is no agreement between us, nothing to cancel, and no version of this in which declining costs you anything at all.
Where my licence stops
People sometimes ask me what they should offer in Hewitt, and I will not answer. Not because the question is difficult, but because answering it is the advisory half of brokerage, and doing that where I hold no licence is the precise thing this page says I do not do. It is also a protection for you. A number from someone who has not stood in the property and does not work the area is worth nothing, however confidently it is delivered.
What to ask before you sign anything
- Can I sign remotely — electronically, or by post — or does something have to happen in person? If I am still in Florida on the day, what does that change?
- If my timeline slips by six weeks, what happens to the agreement I am about to sign with you, and what happens to any money already committed?
- What is the local practice on possession — do I get the keys at closing, or do sellers here commonly stay on for a period afterwards, and how is that documented?
- 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.
The limits, stated outright
I will not tell you what to offer or what to ask in Hewitt. Pricing is the advisory half of brokerage, it rests on evidence I have no proper access to, and giving it where I hold no licence would be the precise thing this page says I do not do. When you want that answer, take it from the licensee I introduce you to, in writing, with the comparable properties attached to it.
One move, two transactions
A tenanted Florida property does not empty because you have decided to move. The lease runs with the property, the tenant holds rights until it ends, and both of those facts sit in the middle of your closing date whether or not they are convenient. That is Florida work and it is mine to do, but it wants a start measured in months rather than weeks, so raise it on the first call rather than the fourth.
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 Hewitt?
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.
One conversation is enough to begin
A referral costs you nothing and commits you to nothing. The worst outcome is that you meet an agent you decide not to hire.
Start the introduction 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
There is no panel of partner brokerages on this page because there is not yet a panel of partner brokerages. When there is, they will be named here with their licence numbers, and not before.
The referral is submitted through The Keyes Company, and a receiving brokerage licensed in your state is identified for your specific transaction. I look at what that brokerage and that agent actually work on — price band, property type, whether relocations are routine for them — and I speak to them before your name is passed along.
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.