Florida Licence · South Dakota Introduction
An introduction to an agent licensed in South Dakota
One licence, one state, and an honest answer about Sioux Falls.
Referral onlyRead this part before the rest
If you searched for an agent in Sioux Falls and landed on the site of a Florida licensee, one of two things is true: either the site is overreaching, or it is offering something other than representation. This one is the second. The offer here is an introduction through The Keyes Company, and the rest of this page explains exactly what that is and is not.
What actually happens next
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 Sioux Falls 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.
Things I am going to refuse
I will not read your South Dakota contract and tell you it looks fine. I do not know that state’s standard form, its local addenda, or what its courts have made of the wording, and a Florida licensee’s reassurance about a contract in another state is worth precisely nothing. Put it to the agent, and where the sums are significant, put it to an attorney licensed where the property is.
What changes when you leave Florida
- Licensing in this industry is granted state by state, not federally. A Florida licence carries no authority in South Dakota, and a South Dakota licence carries none in Florida — which is why an introduction, rather than representation, is the only honest offer on this page.
- South Dakota joins Florida in having no broad-based tax on wage income, so that particular line in the relocation spreadsheet does not move. Most of the other lines will.
- Closings in South Dakota 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.
- Florida’s homestead exemption and its Save Our Homes assessment cap do not follow you. South Dakota 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.
What I can do directly, without an introduction
Most moves out of Florida have a Florida transaction attached to them. If you are selling a Florida home and buying in Sioux Falls, that is the strongest version of this: I represent you on the Florida sale as your agent, and I refer you for the South Dakota purchase. One relationship, two licensed professionals, and nobody pretending to be qualified where they are not.
The first conversation, made useful
- How are deposits handled in South Dakota — 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.
- What does a normal contract-to-close timeline look like in South Dakota, and what most often blows it up?
- If the property is listed by your own brokerage, what happens to my representation, what does South Dakota law permit in that situation, and what exactly would you be asking me to sign?
- What is the insurance picture on the kind of property I am looking at, and who should I be calling for a real quote?
Other cities in South Dakota
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.
Is this a referral to a lender or title company too?
No. This is a real estate brokerage referral only. It is not a referral to any lender, title company, insurer, or other settlement service provider, and it should not be read as one.
How is this different from the sites that match me with an agent?
Put the same two questions to any of them and compare the answers: how many people receive my details, and who pays you. Here the answers are one named brokerage, and the receiving brokerage pays The Keyes Company a share of its own commission if a transaction closes. Neither arrangement is illegitimate. They are simply not the same thing, and you are entitled to know which one you are in.
What if the agent you introduce me to turns out to be no good?
Tell me, and tell me early. I will go back and look again, and I will say so to the brokerage that put them forward. What I cannot do is repair the transaction from Florida: I do not supervise them and I am not a party to your agreement with them. Your remedies are the ones written into that agreement, their own broker, and the body that licenses agents in South Dakota.
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.
One conversation is enough to begin
A referral costs you nothing and commits you to nothing. The worst outcome is that you meet an agent you decide not to hire.
Start the introduction 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
What I can describe is the process, which exists whether or not a particular agreement has been signed. Who it lands on is decided per transaction, not per quarter.
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.