Referral, Not Representation

What a Florida licensee can do for a Seattle move

One licence, one state, and an honest answer about Seattle.

Referral only

Structural differences worth knowing before you go

Real estate licensing is state by state. An agent licensed in Florida cannot represent you in Washington, and a Washington licensee cannot represent you in Florida.
Like Florida, Washington has no broad-based tax on wage income. That removes one of the variables people most often assume they are trading away when they leave Florida.
Title works differently for married couples in Washington, which is a community property state. It affects how you may hold the property and what happens to cost basis on a first death. That is a conversation for an attorney in Washington, and it is better had before closing than after.
Closings in Washington 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. Washington 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.

Why you are reading this

Buying at a distance is a different job from buying at home, and the licensee who suits it is not necessarily the one with the largest sign presence. Somebody has to walk the property with a phone in their hand, describe what is behind the fence rather than what is in the photographs, and be willing to say the thing that costs them the sale. That is what I am screening for when I make these calls. I cannot do it for you in Washington, and I would not trust a page that told you otherwise.

How the introduction gets made

Step 1

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.

Step 2

I brief, then introduce

I describe your situation to the Seattle licensee before you ever speak, so your first conversation starts at the second question rather than the first.

Step 3

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.

Where I stop, on purpose

I will not read your Washington 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 to ask the agent I introduce you to

If the property is listed by your own brokerage, what happens to my representation, what does Washington law permit in that situation, and what exactly would you be asking me to sign?
How is your compensation structured, and what is negotiable about it? Broker compensation is not set by law in any state.
What is on the survey or title work here that a Florida buyer would not think to look for?
How is a shortfall on the appraisal usually handled in Washington, and what do buyers here commonly write into the contract to deal with it before it happens?

The half of this I can actually do

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.

Other cities in Washington

Questions people actually ask

Is dual agency allowed in Washington?

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.

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.

How long does it take to find someone?

Usually days rather than weeks. It depends on how specific your requirements are and how many licensees in Seattle genuinely fit them.

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.

How do I time a Florida sale against a purchase in Seattle?

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 Washington 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.

The next step is a phone call

Two things start this: the city, and the month it has to happen by. Everything else can be worked out on the call.

Tell me about the move 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

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.

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.