Licensed in Florida Only
Relocating to Palo Alto? Here is how a referral works.
You are not a lead here. You are a phone call I have to make properly.
Referral onlyThe part most sites leave out
If you are selling in Palo Alto 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.
What a Florida owner does not expect
- Licensing in this industry is granted state by state, not federally. A Florida licence carries no authority in California, and a California licence carries none in Florida — which is why an introduction, rather than representation, is the only honest offer on this page.
- 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 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.
Three steps, and what each one commits you to
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.
A deliberate search
I look for a licensee in Palo Alto whose day-to-day work resembles your transaction. Then I speak to them before I hand over your name.
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.
What this page is not offering
I will not tell you where to live. Not which part of Palo Alto, not which street, not which side of a road. Some of that is because I do not know. The rest is because steering people towards or away from particular areas is exactly what fair housing law exists to prevent, and an agent who does it casually is not doing you a favour. You set the criteria. Your agent shows you what meets them.
The half of this I can actually do
There are two possible orders and they carry different risks. Sell first and you know your number but may need somewhere to live; buy first and you have somewhere to live but two sets of carrying costs until the Florida property closes. Which suits you is a conversation for you, your lender and me, and it is far better had before you are emotionally attached to a particular house in Palo Alto than after.
Use the first call properly
- What does your written agreement say about the length of the term and how I end it if this is not working?
- How is your compensation structured, and what is negotiable about it? Broker compensation is not set by law in any state.
- What is the local convention on inspection and financing contingency periods, and how tight are people making them right now?
- What does a normal contract-to-close timeline look like in California, and what most often blows it up?
Other cities in California
Questions people actually ask
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.
Is dual agency allowed in California?
That depends on the state, and it is a question for the licensee I introduce you to rather than for me. Some states permit one agent to work with both sides where everybody consents in writing; others restrict or prohibit it outright. Florida’s own vocabulary — transaction broker, single agent — does not map neatly onto other states, so do not assume your Florida experience transfers. Ask what it is called there and what you would be signing.
Can you help me sell my Florida home at the same time?
Yes, and that is the part where I am your agent rather than an introduction. Florida listings are squarely within my licence under The Keyes Company. If your move has a Florida sale attached, say so early so the two timelines can be planned together.
I have a relocation package through work. Does that change anything?
It might, so check before I introduce anybody. Some employer programmes and benefit schemes require you to register with them before you speak to an agent, and will not pay the benefit if you have already committed to someone. That order of operations is theirs rather than mine. Read the terms, make that call first, and then come back — the referral will still be here.
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.
Before you fill in anyone else’s form
Send me the details and I will start looking. If your move is into Florida rather than out of it, skip the referral — that one is mine.
Send me the details 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
I am not going to publish a partner directory I have not earned. What follows is how the decision actually gets made.
In practice: The Keyes Company places the referral, and I go looking for a licensee whose recent work resembles what you are about to do. A first-time purchase, a downsize and an investment buy need genuinely different people, and that difference is invisible from a profile page.
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.