Referrals Outside Florida
What a Florida licensee can do for a Akron move
One introduction, made carefully, costs you nothing and saves you the guesswork.
Referral onlyRead this part before the rest
If you are selling in Akron rather than buying, this introduction matters more, not less. A listing agreement is a contract for a fixed term with a named brokerage, and it is considerably harder to unwind than a conversation with a buyer’s agent. So take longer over it than you think you need to. Ask what the agent will actually do in the first fortnight, ask in writing what it costs you to end the arrangement early, and do not sign anything on the first call — including anything I put in front of you, which is nothing at all.
How a referral works
A short conversation
What is prompting the move, when it has to happen, and whether there is a Florida property on the other side of it. That last one changes what I can do for you.
A deliberate search
I look for a licensee in Akron whose day-to-day work resembles your transaction. Then I speak to them before I hand over your name.
A clean handoff
You get an introduction and the reasoning behind it. If you do not like them, tell me and I will go back and look again.
Things that surprise people moving out of Florida
- Real estate licensing is state by state. An agent licensed in Florida cannot represent you in Ohio, and a Ohio licensee cannot represent you in Florida.
- Ohio 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.
- Closings in Ohio 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. Ohio 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.
Where I stop, on purpose
I will not send your details to several agents at once to see which one bites. One introduction, to one named brokerage, after a conversation with the person at the other end. If it turns out to be the wrong fit I would rather go back and make a second introduction than have set four strangers racing each other with your telephone number.
Questions worth asking on that first call
- Which documents will you ask me to sign at the very start, what does each one commit me to, and how long does it run? Ask for them by email so you can read them somewhere other than at a kitchen table.
- How is a shortfall on the appraisal usually handled in Ohio, and what do buyers here commonly write into the contract to deal with it before it happens?
- If the property is listed by your own brokerage, what happens to my representation, what does Ohio law permit in that situation, and what exactly would you be asking me to sign?
- 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 there is a Florida property on the other side
If what you are leaving is a condominium or a house inside an association, the Florida side has a queue attached to it. Estoppel letters, association approval, and the building’s inspection and reserve documents where those apply — none of it moves at the speed of a buyer who wants to close in thirty days. Starting that paperwork while you are still deciding about Akron is the cheapest thing you can do for your own timeline.
Other cities in Ohio
Questions people actually ask
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 Ohio as in Florida.
Can you guarantee I will be happy with the agent?
No, and be sceptical of anyone who says otherwise. I can introduce you to a licensed professional and give you my honest read. I do not supervise or control the agent or brokerage you choose, and I cannot promise an outcome, a price, or a timeline.
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.
Will my information be sold or shared with a lead network?
No. A referral goes to a named brokerage through The Keyes Company, not into a lead marketplace. This page itself collects nothing — the links go to forms hosted by The Keyes Company, which processes them under its own privacy policy.
Do I need a Ohio licence to be referred?
No — that requirement falls on the agent, not on you. The licensee I introduce you to will hold a current Ohio licence and will represent you under Ohio law.
Before you fill in anyone else’s form
Give me the city, the timeline and whether there is a Florida property involved. That is genuinely all I need to start making calls.
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.
Who you will actually be working with
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.
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.