Licensed in Florida Only
Florida is my licence. Cleveland is a referral.
I will not pretend to work Cleveland. I will find you someone who does.
Referral onlyFlorida to Ohio: what is genuinely different
- 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.
- Leaving Florida means picking up a state income tax in Ohio. 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 Ohio generally run through a title or escrow company rather than requiring an attorney as a matter of course — structurally closer to what you are used to in Florida than not.
- Florida’s homestead exemption and its Save Our Homes assessment cap do not follow you. Ohio 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.
Where the line actually falls
When a website offers you an agent in any city you care to name, one of two structures usually sits behind it: a network of brokerages with a fee arrangement between them, or a marketplace that resells enquiries to whoever is paying for that area this month. Neither is disqualifying. What matters is that you know which you are in and who is paid by whom. This is the first kind, the arrangement runs through The Keyes Company, and it is written out in full further down rather than buried in a footer.
What I do once you call
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.
I brief, then introduce
I describe your situation to the Cleveland licensee before you ever speak, so your first conversation starts at the second question rather than the first.
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.
What this page is not offering
I will not sit between you and your Ohio agent during a negotiation. Two voices on one side of a deal is how positions get muddled and how something ends up conceded twice. Once you are in a transaction they advise and you decide. If you want a second read from me on how something is worded, ask for it — but it will be a private conversation, not a message relayed to the other side of the table.
The first conversation, made useful
- 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 Cleveland 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.
Selling here, buying there
Most moves out of Florida have a Florida transaction attached to them. If you are selling a Florida home and buying in Cleveland, that is the strongest version of this: I represent you on the Florida sale as your agent, and I refer you for the Ohio purchase. One relationship, two licensed professionals, and nobody pretending to be qualified where they are not.
Other cities in Ohio
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.
Can you help me sell my Florida home at the same time?
Yes, and that is the part where I am your agent rather than an introduction. Florida listings are squarely within my licence under The Keyes Company. If your move has a Florida sale attached, say so early so the two timelines can be planned together.
Who actually pays you?
Only my broker can. Under Section 475.42(1)(d), Florida Statutes, a sales associate may be compensated only by the registered broker. Any referral fee is paid to The Keyes Company, and The Keyes Company may in turn compensate me. There is no direct payment from you or from the Ohio agent to me.
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.
Is dual agency allowed in Ohio?
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.
Start here
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.
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.
Where the referral goes
A referral is only worth anything if the choice is made for your transaction rather than made once and applied to everyone. So there is no default name here.
It runs through The Keyes Company, which is what makes the arrangement lawful and what makes any fee traceable. Within that, the choice of who is a judgement about fit, made once I know what your transaction actually is.
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.