Referrals Outside Florida

Sioux City is outside my licence — here is the useful part

One licence, one state, and an honest answer about Sioux City.

Referral only

Starting with what I cannot do

A licence is a jurisdiction, not a reputation. Mine covers Florida and stops there, which means that for a Sioux City transaction I am not the person who represents you — no matter how much I know about moving, financing, or the mechanics of a closing. What I am is someone with a brokerage behind him and a reason to introduce you to the right person rather than the nearest one.

From this page to a licensed agent

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 Sioux City 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.

Where I stop, on purpose

I will not promise you an outcome. Not a price, not a timeline, not a standard of service from somebody else’s employee. What I can give you is what I asked the agent, what they said, and anything in the conversation that gave me pause. Anyone offering more certainty than that about a transaction in a state they are not licensed in is describing a wish rather than a service.

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 Iowa, and a Iowa 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 Iowa. 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.
  • Closings in Iowa 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. Iowa 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.

Where I stop being a referral and start being your agent

A tenanted Florida property does not empty because you have decided to move. The lease runs with the property, the tenant holds rights until it ends, and both of those facts sit in the middle of your closing date whether or not they are convenient. That is Florida work and it is mine to do, but it wants a start measured in months rather than weeks, so raise it on the first call rather than the fourth.

The questions that tell you who you are dealing with

  • What goes into an offer here besides the price, and what do sellers in Iowa expect to see attached to it? Local custom on this varies more than people moving between states tend to assume.
  • What does your written agreement say about the length of the term and how I end it if this is not working?
  • 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 many transactions have you closed in Sioux City in the last twelve months, and how many were on the side of the table I am on?

Other cities in Iowa

Questions people actually ask

Why should I go through you instead of searching myself?

You may not need to. If you already know a good agent in Sioux City, use them. The value here is that someone with a professional reason to care makes the call, checks the fit, and stays reachable if it goes sideways.

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.

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.

What if the agent you introduce me to turns out to be no good?

Tell me, and tell me early. I will go back and look again, and I will say so to the brokerage that put them forward. What I cannot do is repair the transaction from Florida: I do not supervise them and I am not a party to your agreement with them. Your remedies are the ones written into that agreement, their own broker, and the body that licenses agents in Iowa.

How is this different from the sites that match me with an agent?

Put the same two questions to any of them and compare the answers: how many people receive my details, and who pays you. Here the answers are one named brokerage, and the receiving brokerage pays The Keyes Company a share of its own commission if a transaction closes. Neither arrangement is illegitimate. They are simply not the same thing, and you are entitled to know which one you are in.

The next step is a phone call

Two things start this: the city, and the month it has to happen by. Everything else can be worked out on the call.

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 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.

The path is The Keyes Company to a licensed brokerage in your state. What I add is the filter in between — and a phone number you can still call if the introduction turns out to have been a bad read.

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.