Out-of-State Introduction
Florida is my licence. Winooski is a referral.
Read the limitation first. The useful part sits directly underneath it.
Referral onlyWhy you are reading this
After the introduction I am not in your transaction. I do not supervise the agent, I do not see your contract, and I have no authority to intervene when something goes wrong — that authority belongs to their broker and to the body that licenses agents in Vermont. What I do keep is the telephone. If something reads badly three weeks in, tell me. I would far rather make an awkward call to another brokerage than find out at closing that the introduction was the wrong one.
What a Florida owner does not expect
- Real estate licensing is state by state. An agent licensed in Florida cannot represent you in Vermont, and a Vermont licensee cannot represent you in Florida.
- Vermont 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.
- Residential closings in Vermont customarily involve an attorney, rather than being handled by a title company as they typically are in Florida. Budget for it and expect the timeline to be structured differently.
- Florida’s homestead exemption and its Save Our Homes assessment cap do not follow you. Vermont 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.
From this page to a licensed agent
Put both dates on one page
A Florida sale and a Vermont purchase are two separate contracts with two separate calendars. Before anything else we write down what has to happen by when: the date you must be out, the date you can be in, and which of the two will not move under any circumstances.
Introduce early, not late
An introduction is worth considerably more eight weeks out than two. An agent who knows your timeline from the start can tell you what is achievable on it. One who inherits it a fortnight before closing can only tell you what is not.
We revisit when a date moves
One of them always moves. When it does, tell both sides on the same day. Most of the expensive repairs in a two-state move exist because somebody learned about a slipped date a week after everyone else did.
Boundaries worth naming
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.
The half of this I can actually do
There is a version of this where I am not a referral at all. If the property you are leaving is in Florida, I can list and sell it as your agent under The Keyes Company — that half is squarely my licence — while the Winooski side goes to the licensee I introduce you to. Say so early, because the two timelines have to be planned against each other.
What I would ask if I were you
- What is the local convention on inspection and financing contingency periods, and how tight are people making them right now?
- 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.
- If the property is listed by your own brokerage, what happens to my representation, what does Vermont law permit in that situation, and what exactly would you be asking me to sign?
- What goes into an offer here besides the price, and what do sellers in Vermont expect to see attached to it? Local custom on this varies more than people moving between states tend to assume.
Other cities in Vermont
Questions people actually ask
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.
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 Vermont as in Florida.
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.
Do I need a Vermont licence to be referred?
No — that requirement falls on the agent, not on you. The licensee I introduce you to will hold a current Vermont licence and will represent you under Vermont law.
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.
The next step is a phone call
A referral costs you nothing and commits you to nothing. The worst outcome is that you meet an agent you decide not to hire.
Send me the details 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 takes it from here
The honest state of things: referral relationships are being formalised, and until one is signed there is no company I can point at without overstating it.
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.