Licensed in Florida Only

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

I will not pretend to work Clovis. I will find you someone who does.

Referral only

One licence, one state

You have probably already found three pages promising New Mexico results from people who have never set foot there. This is not one of them. I hold one licence, it is Florida's, and everything below is built on that being true rather than on hoping you do not check.

Before you go: the structural differences

  • Licensing in this industry is granted state by state, not federally. A Florida licence carries no authority in New Mexico, and a New Mexico licence carries none in Florida — which is why an introduction, rather than representation, is the only honest offer on this page.
  • Sale prices in New Mexico 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 New Mexico. 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.
  • Title works differently for married couples in New Mexico, which is a community property state. It affects how you may hold the property and what happens to cost basis on a first death. That is a conversation for an attorney in New Mexico, and it is better had before closing than after.
  • Closings in New Mexico 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. New Mexico 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.

From this page to a licensed agent

Step 1

Put both dates on one page

A Florida sale and a New Mexico purchase are two separate contracts with two separate calendars. Before anything else we write down what has to happen by when: the date you must be out, the date you can be in, and which of the two will not move under any circumstances.

Step 2

Introduce early, not late

An introduction is worth considerably more eight weeks out than two. An agent who knows your timeline from the start can tell you what is achievable on it. One who inherits it a fortnight before closing can only tell you what is not.

Step 3

We revisit when a date moves

One of them always moves. When it does, tell both sides on the same day. Most of the expensive repairs in a two-state move exist because somebody learned about a slipped date a week after everyone else did.

What I will not do

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.

Where I stop being a referral and start being your agent

Worth asking yourself before you call: is there a Florida house in this? If so, the referral is only half the conversation. The other half is a Florida listing, which is my actual job, and coordinating the two is materially easier when the same person is watching both calendars.

What to ask the agent I introduce you to

  • What does a normal contract-to-close timeline look like in New Mexico, and what most often blows it up?
  • How many transactions have you closed in Clovis in the last twelve months, and how many were on the side of the table I am on?
  • 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?
  • 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.

Other cities in New Mexico

Questions people actually ask

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 Clovis 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.

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.

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.

Are commissions set by law?

No. Broker compensation is not set by law and is fully negotiable between you and the brokerage that represents you, in New Mexico as in Florida.

The next step is a phone call

I would rather have one honest conversation that ends with me saying you do not need me than ten that end in an introduction you regret.

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.

The brokerage on the other end

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 referral goes out through The Keyes Company to a brokerage licensed where you are buying. Before your name moves, I want to know that the agent on the other end has done something close to your transaction recently and will answer the phone themselves.

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.