Out-of-State Introduction

Buying in National City? I will introduce you to someone licensed there.

If there is a Florida property attached to this move, say so — that half is mine.

Referral only

Where the line actually falls

If you are selling in National City rather than buying, this introduction matters more, not less. A listing agreement is a contract for a fixed term with a named brokerage, and it is considerably harder to unwind than a conversation with a buyer’s agent. So take longer over it than you think you need to. Ask what the agent will actually do in the first fortnight, ask in writing what it costs you to end the arrangement early, and do not sign anything on the first call — including anything I put in front of you, which is nothing at all.

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.
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.
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.
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.

The process, in three steps

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 National City 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.

The limits, stated outright

I will not sit between you and your California agent during a negotiation. Two voices on one side of a deal is how positions get muddled and how something ends up conceded twice. Once you are in a transaction they advise and you decide. If you want a second read from me on how something is worded, ask for it — but it will be a private conversation, not a message relayed to the other side of the table.

If Florida is the other half of this move

Sometimes the Florida property is not the one you live in. A second home, an inherited house, a unit that has been let for years — each of those sells differently and each carries paperwork that has to be in order before it can go on the market at all. If one of them is attached to your move to National City, that part sits squarely inside my licence, and it is worth starting early, because the documents take longer than the marketing does.

Questions worth asking on that first call

What disclosures is a seller in California required to make, and what are they entitled to stay silent about?
What is on the survey or title work here that a Florida buyer would not think to look for?
What goes into an offer here besides the price, and what do sellers in California expect to see attached to it? Local custom on this varies more than people moving between states tend to assume.
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?

Other cities in California

Questions people actually ask

Are commissions set by law?

No. Broker compensation is not set by law and is fully negotiable between you and the brokerage that represents you, in California as in Florida.

Can you guarantee I will be happy with the agent?

No, and be sceptical of anyone who says otherwise. I can introduce you to a licensed professional and give you my honest read. I do not supervise or control the agent or brokerage you choose, and I cannot promise an outcome, a price, or a timeline.

Do you get paid if I never buy anything?

No. A referral fee only arises if a referred transaction actually closes. If nothing closes, nothing is paid by anyone.

Will my information be sold or shared with a lead network?

No. A referral goes to a named brokerage through The Keyes Company, not into a lead marketplace. This page itself collects nothing — the links go to forms hosted by The Keyes Company, which processes them under its own privacy policy.

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.

Start here

Give me the city, the timeline and whether there is a Florida property involved. That is genuinely all I need to start making calls.

Ask about National City 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 you will actually be working with

A referral is only worth anything if the choice is made for your transaction rather than made once and applied to everyone. So there is no default name here.

The Keyes Company handles the placement. I handle the question of whether the person on the other end is right for you, which means asking them about their last few transactions rather than reading their bio.

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.