One Licence, Forty-Nine Referrals
Relocating to Jacksonville? Here is how a referral works.
Referral only, stated plainly, with the fee arrangement written out further down.
Referral onlyRead this part before the rest
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.
Three steps, and what each one commits you to
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.
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.
You meet them uncommitted
The first conversation with the Jacksonville 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.
Things I am going to refuse
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.
What changes when you leave Florida
- Real estate licensing is state by state. An agent licensed in Florida cannot represent you in North Carolina, and a North Carolina licensee cannot represent you in Florida.
- 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.
- Like Florida, North Carolina has coastal exposure and a named-storm deductible regime in its property insurance market. The mechanism will feel familiar; the numbers will not necessarily.
- 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.
Selling here, buying there
If you already have a Florida agent you trust, keep them. The referral stands on its own and does not require you to move your Florida business to me. Tell me on the first call and I will make the introduction and step back out of it. That is a shorter conversation than the other one, and it costs you exactly the same, which is nothing.
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?
- What disclosures is a seller in North Carolina required to make, and what are they entitled to stay silent about?
- How are deposits handled in North Carolina — who holds the money, what amount is customary, and at what point does it stop being refundable? Get that answer before you write the cheque rather than after.
- If my timeline slips by six weeks, what happens to the agreement I am about to sign with you, and what happens to any money already committed?
Other cities in North Carolina
Questions people actually ask
Is dual agency allowed in North Carolina?
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.
Who holds my deposit?
It varies by state and sometimes by county: a title or escrow company, the listing brokerage, or an attorney. What matters more than who holds it is what the contract says about when it can be released and what it takes to get it back. Ask both questions before you part with the money, and ask for the answer in writing rather than on the telephone.
How do I time a Florida sale against a purchase in Jacksonville?
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.
Do you get paid if I use an agent you did not refer me to?
No. A fee arises only where the introduction came through The Keyes Company and a transaction closes with that agent. If you find someone yourself, or use somebody you already know, nothing is payable to anyone — and that is a perfectly good outcome. I would rather you had the right agent than that I had a fee.
I have a relocation package through work. Does that change anything?
It might, so check before I introduce anybody. Some employer programmes and benefit schemes require you to register with them before you speak to an agent, and will not pay the benefit if you have already committed to someone. That order of operations is theirs rather than mine. Read the terms, make that call first, and then come back — the referral will still be here.
Tell me where you are going
Send me the details and I will start looking. If your move is into Florida rather than out of it, skip the referral — that one is mine.
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.
The brokerage on the other end
Most referral pages open with a wall of logos. Mine does not, because a logo tells you a marketing agreement exists and tells you nothing about whether the person you end up with is any good.
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.