Referral, Not Representation

Florida is my licence. Santa Clarita is a referral.

One introduction, made carefully, costs you nothing and saves you the guesswork.

Referral only

How a referral works

Step 1

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.

Step 2

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.

Step 3

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.

Starting with what I cannot do

After the introduction I am not in your transaction. I do not supervise the agent, I do not see your contract, and I have no authority to intervene when something goes wrong — that authority belongs to their broker and to the body that licenses agents in California. What I do keep is the telephone. If something reads badly three weeks in, tell me. I would far rather make an awkward call to another brokerage than find out at closing that the introduction was the wrong one.

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.

Structural 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.
  • 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.

What I would ask if I were you

  • Who actually answers the phone — you, or someone on your team? Ask early; the answer changes the whole relationship.
  • 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?

One move, two transactions

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 Santa Clarita, that part sits squarely inside my licence, and it is worth starting early, because the documents take longer than the marketing does.

Other cities in California

Questions people actually ask

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.

Do you get paid if I use an agent you did not refer me to?

No. A fee arises only where the introduction came through The Keyes Company and a transaction closes with that agent. If you find someone yourself, or use somebody you already know, nothing is payable to anyone — and that is a perfectly good outcome. I would rather you had the right agent than that I had a fee.

What do you actually tell the agent about me?

The shape of the transaction. The city, roughly when, buying or selling, and anything you have told me matters to you in how you are dealt with. Not your finances, and nothing you have asked me to keep to myself. If you would rather I said less than that, say so — it is your information, and a shorter briefing costs nothing.

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.

How do you choose who to refer me to?

I look for someone whose recent, actual work resembles your transaction — price band, property type, and whether they handle relocations regularly. I speak to them before I pass on your name.

Ready when you are

If you would rather ask a question first than request anything, that is fine too — the phone number and email below reach me directly.

Request a referral 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

The honest state of things: referral relationships are being formalised, and until one is signed there is no company I can point at without overstating it.

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.