A Florida licence does not reach Elgin. Here is what does.

From this page to a licensed agent

What works differently in Illinois

• Licensing in this industry is granted state by state, not federally. A Florida licence carries no authority in Illinois, and a Illinois licence carries none in Florida — which is why an introduction, rather than representation, is the only honest offer on this page.
• Illinois 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.
• Closings in Illinois are generally handled through a title or escrow company rather than by an attorney as a matter of course, which is closer to the Florida pattern than not.
• Neither the homestead exemption nor the Save Our Homes cap travels with you out of Florida. Illinois 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 this page is, and what it is not

If you are selling in Elgin 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.

Where I stop, on purpose

I will not treat the introduction as the end of my involvement when that suits me and the beginning of it when that suits me better. What I owe you afterwards is honesty and a returned telephone call. What I cannot offer is supervision of another brokerage’s agent, because I have no authority over them at all. I would rather draw that line now than have you rely on something I am unable to deliver.

The Florida side of a two-state move

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

What to ask before you sign anything

• If I need to back out, what actually happens to my deposit under a standard Illinois contract?
• How do you prefer to communicate, how quickly do you normally reply, and who covers your clients when you are away? Settle that in the first week and most of the friction in a long-distance transaction disappears.
• Do you work alone or as part of a team? If it is a team, ask who writes the offer, who attends the inspection, and who I will actually be speaking to at nine o’clock on a Tuesday morning.
• How are deposits handled in Illinois — who holds the money, what amount is customary, and at what point does it stop being refundable? Get that answer before you write the cheque rather than after.

Other cities in Illinois

• Evanston
• Champaign
• Peoria
• Joliet
• Chicago
• Palatine
• Des Plaines
• Bloomington
• All of Illinois