Licensed in Florida Only

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

What I can do for a Charlotte move, stated plainly and without the sales gloss.

Referral only

First, the limitation

One thing to check before you let me introduce anyone. If your move is being paid for by an employer, or you are using a benefit programme attached to your work or your service, read that programme’s terms first. Some of them require you to register with them before you speak to any agent and will not pay out if you have already committed to someone. That is not a rule I control and it is not a reason to avoid a referral — it is a reason to make one telephone call in the right order.

How the introduction gets made

Step 1

Start with the constraint

Almost every move has one thing that cannot flex — a start date at work, a lease ending, a tenant with rights until a fixed date, a closing already on the calendar. Tell me that first; it determines everything else.

Step 2

I brief, then introduce

I describe your situation to the Charlotte licensee before you ever speak, so your first conversation starts at the second question rather than the first.

Step 3

You keep my number

The introduction is not the end of it. If something reads wrong three weeks in, call me — I would rather hear it than find out at closing.

Things I am going to refuse

I will not tell you where to live. Not which part of Charlotte, 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.

The mechanics change at the state line

  • Licensing in this industry is granted state by state, not federally. A Florida licence carries no authority in North Carolina, and a North Carolina licence carries none in Florida — which is why an introduction, rather than representation, is the only honest offer on this page.
  • North Carolina 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.
  • Expect an attorney at the closing table in North Carolina. Florida closings typically run through a title company instead, so the cast of characters, the fee structure and the sequence of the last two weeks will all look unfamiliar.
  • North Carolina shares Florida's coastal exposure and, with it, a named-storm deductible regime in its property insurance market. The mechanism will be familiar. Do not assume the premium will be.
  • Florida’s homestead exemption and its Save Our Homes assessment cap do not follow you. North Carolina has its own property tax treatment, its own exemptions, and its own rules on how fast an assessment may rise. Confirm the specifics with the local taxing authority.

The half of this I can actually do

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

Questions I would put to them myself

  • 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?
  • Have you worked with buyers who were selling in another state at the same time? Ask for the mechanics of how they handled it rather than for a reassurance that they have.
  • How many transactions have you closed in Charlotte in the last twelve months, and how many were on the side of the table I am on?
  • Who actually answers the phone — you, or someone on your team? Ask early; the answer changes the whole relationship.

Other cities in North Carolina

Questions people actually ask

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.

How do I time a Florida sale against a purchase in Charlotte?

Deliberately, and from the start. The two closings are separate contracts and nobody controls both, so the work is in keeping each side informed of the other’s dates. If I am handling the Florida sale, I will speak to your North Carolina agent about the calendar directly. Where the dates cannot be made to meet, the usual instruments are a rent-back or interim financing, and both are cheaper to plan than to arrange in a hurry.

Does a VA loan change how the referral works?

Not on my side of it. Loan eligibility is a matter between you and a lender, not something an agent controls, and nothing on this page is a referral to any lender. What it may change is who you want at the other end: ask the licensee I introduce you to how often they work with buyers using that financing and what local practice is on the paperwork. It is a fair question and the answer is usually revealing.

Can you represent me in Charlotte?

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

Am I obliged to use the agent you introduce?

No. A referral is an introduction. You can interview them, interview others, and decline. If they are not right, tell me and I will look again.

Before you fill in anyone else’s form

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

Talk it through first 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

You will notice nobody is named below. That is deliberate and it is temporary: I would rather show you an empty list than a borrowed one.

Practically, The Keyes Company routes the referral and I do the vetting. That means a conversation with the receiving agent first — what they close, how they communicate, whether they will still be reachable in week six.

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.