Florida Licence · Georgia Introduction
Relocating to Johns Creek? Here is how a referral works.
One licence, one state, and an honest answer about Johns Creek.
Referral onlyWhat I do once you call
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.
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.
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.
First, the limitation
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 Georgia agent, but I can be the person who found them and who you can call when you want a second read.
Things that surprise people moving out of Florida
- Real estate licensing is state by state. An agent licensed in Florida cannot represent you in Georgia, and a Georgia licensee cannot represent you in Florida.
- Georgia levies a tax on income; Florida does not. It is a change worth modelling against the housing cost before you commit to a price range, and it is a question for your own tax adviser rather than for any real estate agent.
- Residential closings in Georgia customarily involve an attorney, rather than being handled by a title company as they typically are in Florida. Budget for it and expect the timeline to be structured differently.
- Like Florida, Georgia has coastal exposure and a named-storm deductible regime in its property insurance market. The mechanism will feel familiar; the numbers will not necessarily.
- Florida’s homestead exemption and its Save Our Homes assessment cap do not follow you. Georgia has its own property tax treatment, its own exemptions, and its own rules on how fast an assessment may rise. Confirm the specifics with the local taxing authority.
What I would ask if I were you
- How is a shortfall on the appraisal usually handled in Georgia, 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 Georgia 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?
Things I am going to refuse
I will not read your Georgia contract and tell you it looks fine. I do not know that state’s standard form, its local addenda, or what its courts have made of the wording, and a Florida licensee’s reassurance about a contract in another state is worth precisely nothing. Put it to the agent, and where the sums are significant, put it to an attorney licensed where the property is.
The Florida side of a two-state move
Most moves out of Florida have a Florida transaction attached to them. If you are selling a Florida home and buying in Johns Creek, that is the strongest version of this: I represent you on the Florida sale as your agent, and I refer you for the Georgia purchase. One relationship, two licensed professionals, and nobody pretending to be qualified where they are not.
Other cities in Georgia
Questions people actually ask
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.
Can you represent me in Johns Creek?
No. My licence is issued by Florida and is valid in Florida only. Representing you in a Georgia transaction would be unlicensed activity there. What I can do is refer you to a licensee in Georgia through The Keyes Company.
Who holds my deposit?
It varies by state and sometimes by county: a title or escrow company, the listing brokerage, or an attorney. What matters more than who holds it is what the contract says about when it can be released and what it takes to get it back. Ask both questions before you part with the money, and ask for the answer in writing rather than on the telephone.
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.
Do you know the Johns Creek market?
Not the way someone working it every day does, and I am not going to claim otherwise. That is the entire reason this page offers a referral rather than advice.
Tell me the city and the timeline
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.
Tell me about the move 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 actually ends up representing you
Most referral pages open with a wall of logos. Mine does not, because a logo tells you a marketing agreement exists and tells you nothing about whether the person you end up with is any good.
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.