Referral, Not Representation

Buying in Owensboro? I will introduce you to someone licensed there.

My licence stops at the Florida line. My usefulness does not have to.

Referral only

Why you are reading this

Buying at a distance is a different job from buying at home, and the licensee who suits it is not necessarily the one with the largest sign presence. Somebody has to walk the property with a phone in their hand, describe what is behind the fence rather than what is in the photographs, and be willing to say the thing that costs them the sale. That is what I am screening for when I make these calls. I cannot do it for you in Kentucky, and I would not trust a page that told you otherwise.

The limits, stated outright

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.

How the introduction gets made

Step 1

You give me the shape of it

Price range, constraints you already know about, and whether you are on a deadline. I am not qualifying you — I am briefing whoever I call.

Step 2

I make the call myself

The referral goes out through The Keyes Company. I would rather spend a week finding the right Kentucky licensee than send your details into a lead pool the same afternoon.

Step 3

It stays your decision

Interview them. Interview two others if you want. Nothing about a referral obliges you to use anyone, and I have no way to make you.

Structural differences worth knowing before you go

  • Real estate licensing is state by state. An agent licensed in Florida cannot represent you in Kentucky, and a Kentucky licensee cannot represent you in Florida.
  • Leaving Florida means picking up a state income tax in Kentucky. 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 Kentucky 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. Kentucky 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 to ask the agent I introduce you to

  • If I am buying before I have seen the property in person, what will you do on my behalf and what will you refuse to do? A clear answer to the second half of that question is worth more than the first.
  • What disclosures is a seller in Kentucky required to make, and what are they entitled to stay silent about?
  • 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?
  • If I need to back out, what actually happens to my deposit under a standard Kentucky contract?

The half of this I can actually do

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 Owensboro, 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 Kentucky

Questions people actually ask

Do I need a Kentucky licence to be referred?

No — that requirement falls on the agent, not on you. The licensee I introduce you to will hold a current Kentucky licence and will represent you under Kentucky law.

Why should I go through you instead of searching myself?

You may not need to. If you already know a good agent in Owensboro, 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 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 Kentucky.

What is a referral agreement?

A document between two brokerages, signed before you are introduced. It records that the introduction came through The Keyes Company and what fee becomes payable if a transaction closes. You are not a party to it, you do not sign it, and it imposes no obligation on you whatsoever. Ask to be told its terms if you want them — there is nothing in it that needs keeping from you.

Is dual agency allowed in Kentucky?

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.

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.

Where the referral goes

What I can describe is the process, which exists whether or not a particular agreement has been signed. Who it lands on is decided per transaction, not per quarter.

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.