Florida is my licence. South Lake Tahoe is a referral.

Where the line actually falls

A referral fee is not a finder’s fee and it is not something you pay. It is a share of the commission the California brokerage earns on a transaction it closes, paid across to The Keyes Company under an agreement signed between the two firms before you are ever introduced. Nothing is added to your closing statement, and nothing arises at all unless a transaction completes. I set this out early because the word “referral” has been used to describe several quite different arrangements, and you are entitled to know which one you are being offered.

Things that surprise people moving out of 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.
• 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 limits, stated outright

I will not take a payment from you, and could not lawfully do so if I wanted to. A Florida sales associate may be compensated only through his registered broker, so any fee here is paid by the receiving brokerage to The Keyes Company out of a commission earned only if a transaction closes. There is no invoice at the end of this and no version of it in which you are billed for an introduction.

The mechanics, without the gloss

The questions that tell you who you are dealing with

• How is a shortfall on the appraisal usually handled in California, and what do buyers here commonly write into the contract to deal with it before it happens?
• 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?
• How do closing costs divide by local custom, which of those items are genuinely negotiable, and which are simply the way it is done here?
• 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?

The half of this I can actually do

If what you are leaving is a condominium or a house inside an association, the Florida side has a queue attached to it. Estoppel letters, association approval, and the building’s inspection and reserve documents where those apply — none of it moves at the speed of a buyer who wants to close in thirty days. Starting that paperwork while you are still deciding about South Lake Tahoe is the cheapest thing you can do for your own timeline.

Other cities in California

• Laguna Niguel
• Vacaville
• Indio
• Del Sur
• Compton
• Dana Point
• Modesto
• Santa Clara
• All of California