Florida Licensee · California Referral

Relocating to Poway? Here is how a referral works.

The offer on this page is an introduction through The Keyes Company, and nothing beyond it.

Referral only

One licence, one state

Most of what goes wrong in a long-distance move goes wrong at the handoff: nobody owns the introduction, so you end up cold-calling names off a search results page. I would rather own it. I cannot be your California agent, but I can be the person who found them and who you can call when you want a second read.

What I do once you call

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 Poway 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.

Things I am going to refuse

I will not tell you what to offer or what to ask in Poway. 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.

What changes when you leave Florida

  • 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.

One move, two transactions

Not everyone sells. If you are keeping the Florida property and letting it out, that is a different conversation with different consequences: the homestead position changes once it stops being your primary residence, and the insurance and association questions change alongside it. I am not your tax adviser and the county property appraiser is the authority on the exemption itself, but I can tell you what the Florida side of that decision looks like in practice before you commit to it.

Questions I would put to them myself

  • 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 I am buying before I have seen the property in person, what will you do on my behalf and what will you refuse to do? A clear answer to the second half of that question is worth more than the first.
  • How do you handle it when you represent both sides of a transaction, and what does California law allow there?
  • How many transactions have you closed in Poway in the last twelve months, and how many were on the side of the table I am on?

Other cities in California

Questions people actually ask

How long does it take to find someone?

Usually days rather than weeks. It depends on how specific your requirements are and how many licensees in Poway genuinely fit them.

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.

Can you represent me in Poway?

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.

Does a VA loan change how the referral works?

Not on my side of it. Loan eligibility is a matter between you and a lender, not something an agent controls, and nothing on this page is a referral to any lender. What it may change is who you want at the other end: ask the licensee I introduce you to how often they work with buyers using that financing and what local practice is on the paperwork. It is a fair question and the answer is usually revealing.

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

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.

Tell me where you are going

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.

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.

Where the referral goes

You will notice nobody is named below. That is deliberate and it is temporary: I would rather show you an empty list than a borrowed one.

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.