One Licence, Forty-Nine Referrals

Before you choose an agent in Columbia, read this

If there is a Florida property attached to this move, say so — that half is mine.

Referral only

One licence, one state

A referral fee is not a finder’s fee and it is not something you pay. It is a share of the commission the Missouri 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.

What changes when you leave Florida

  • Licensing in this industry is granted state by state, not federally. A Florida licence carries no authority in Missouri, and a Missouri licence carries none in Florida — which is why an introduction, rather than representation, is the only honest offer on this page.
  • Sale prices in Missouri are not a matter of public record — it is one of a minority of non-disclosure states. Coming from Florida, where documentary stamps on the deed make the number effectively public, expect to lean far harder on your agent for comparables than you are used to.
  • Leaving Florida means picking up a state income tax in Missouri. 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 Missouri 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. Missouri 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.

How the introduction gets made

Step 1

What kind of transaction

A first purchase, a downsize, an investment, a relocation with a company behind it — these need genuinely different agents, and the difference is not obvious from a profile page.

Step 2

A shortlist, not a name

Where Columbia supports it I would rather hand you two options than one. A referral that gives you no choice is just a redirect.

Step 3

Nothing is owed either way

If you take a name and never call it, that is a fine outcome. No fee arises unless a transaction actually closes, so nothing about this obliges you.

What this page is not offering

I will not tell you where to live. Not which part of Columbia, not which street, not which side of a road. Some of that is because I do not know. The rest is because steering people towards or away from particular areas is exactly what fair housing law exists to prevent, and an agent who does it casually is not doing you a favour. You set the criteria. Your agent shows you what meets them.

What I can do directly, without an introduction

Most moves out of Florida have a Florida transaction attached to them. If you are selling a Florida home and buying in Columbia, that is the strongest version of this: I represent you on the Florida sale as your agent, and I refer you for the Missouri purchase. One relationship, two licensed professionals, and nobody pretending to be qualified where they are not.

Questions I would put to them myself

  • How is a shortfall on the appraisal usually handled in Missouri, and what do buyers here commonly write into the contract to deal with it before it happens?
  • What is the local practice on possession — do I get the keys at closing, or do sellers here commonly stay on for a period afterwards, and how is that documented?
  • How is your compensation structured, and what is negotiable about it? Broker compensation is not set by law in any state.
  • If I am buying before my Florida property sells, what do sellers here accept as proof of funds?

Other cities in Missouri

Questions people actually ask

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 Missouri.

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.

Is this a referral to a lender or title company too?

No. This is a real estate brokerage referral only. It is not a referral to any lender, title company, insurer, or other settlement service provider, and it should not be read as one.

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.

Can you represent me in Columbia?

No. My licence is issued by Florida and is valid in Florida only. Representing you in a Missouri transaction would be unlicensed activity there. What I can do is refer you to a licensee in Missouri through The Keyes Company.

Ready when you are

If you would rather ask a question first than request anything, that is fine too — the phone number and email below reach me directly.

Request a referral 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

I do not keep a list of preferred companies to hand you, and I would be sceptical of an agent who did. A name that is always the answer is a name that is paying for the position, not one that was chosen for your situation.

In practice: The Keyes Company places the referral, and I go looking for a licensee whose recent work resembles what you are about to do. A first-time purchase, a downsize and an investment buy need genuinely different people, and that difference is invisible from a profile page.

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.