Out-of-State Agent Referrals to South Florida
For agents licensed in other states and countries whose clients are moving to Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach or the Treasure Coast
Your client is moving to South Florida and your license is from somewhere else. You can’t represent them on a Florida purchase, but you don’t have to hand them to a stranger. BreakThru Realty takes the referral under a written broker-to-broker agreement signed before anyone calls your client, reports to you at every milestone, and sends the client back to you for anything in your market.
Why Refer Instead of Working the Deal Yourself
Florida requires a Florida real estate license to provide brokerage services on Florida property for compensation. Showing homes, negotiating price and terms, and advising on the purchase contract are all licensed activities, so an agent licensed only in Ohio or Ontario can’t do them here, however well they know the client. Beyond the license, a South Florida purchase involves local work that trips up visiting agents: condominium association approvals, four-point and wind-mitigation inspections that decide whether a home can be insured and at what cost, flood zones and the separate flood policy, Community Development District assessments on the tax bill, and structural milestone rules for older condo buildings. Referring keeps you compliant, keeps your client in the hands of someone who does this every week, and still pays your brokerage when the deal closes.
How Florida Lets Us Pay Your Brokerage
In Florida, referral fees move broker to broker under a written agreement. A Florida brokerage may pay a referral fee to a brokerage licensed in another state; it may not pay one to an unlicensed person, and it does not pay an agent personally. So the agreement is between our broker of record and yours, the fee is paid to your brokerage from the closing, and your broker pays you under whatever arrangement you already have with them. The amount is the fee in our standard referral agreement, set out on the referral program page, and it is written into your agreement before your client is contacted, so nobody negotiates after the fact. Your own state may have rules about receiving a referral fee from another state; your broker is the right person to confirm those before you sign.
The Agreement Comes Before the First Phone Call
Nothing happens with your client until both brokers have signed. That is deliberate: it protects your fee, it gives your client one clear story about who is helping them, and it means no BreakThru agent is ever in the awkward position of calling someone whose referral terms are still open. Once the agreement is back, the agent assigned to your client reaches out within one business day. If anything about the referral is unusual, such as a client who is already talking to another Florida agent or a purchase that spans more than one property, the broker of record raises it with your broker before signing rather than afterward.
- You send the referral through the form on this page, by email, or by phone
- Our broker of record sends the referral agreement to your broker the same day
- Both brokers sign; your client’s name and need are written into the agreement
- A BreakThru agent contacts your client within one business day of signing
- The fee is paid to your brokerage at closing, with a copy of the settlement statement
How Your Client Is Handled Here
The broker of record matches your client with an agent who works the area and the price range they are considering, not simply whoever is next in line. The first conversation covers what your client told you and what they may not have: when they need to be settled, whether they will rent first, what they are selling where they live now, and what a typical week of theirs looks like, because a commute to Brickell and a commute to West Palm Beach are different decisions. Buyers sign a written agreement with their agent before touring, which has been the national practice since August 2024, and the agent walks your client through it. Clients who can’t travel yet get video walkthroughs and honest condition notes. For financing questions, including jumbo loans and condo warrantability, we tell clients to consult a mortgage lender early, ideally one who closes Florida loans regularly.
How You Stay in the Loop
You referred a person you care about, so you should never have to chase us for news. You decide how involved you want to be: some agents want a note after every showing, others want a call when the contract is signed and another at closing. Whatever you choose, you hear about each milestone before you think to ask, from the agent who is actually working with your client rather than from an office inbox. If your client goes quiet, changes their plans, or decides Florida is not the move after all, you hear that too, plainly and promptly, because it affects how you look after them at home.
- First contact made and the client’s timeline confirmed
- Showings scheduled, and the homes your client is serious about
- Offer written, and whether it was accepted, countered or declined
- Under contract, with inspection and insurance results as they arrive
- Cleared to close, closing date set, and the settlement statement at closing
If Your Client Is Also Selling in Your State
That listing is yours. We don’t solicit it, recommend another agent for it, or treat it as part of the Florida referral. What we do is coordinate with you, because the two transactions often depend on each other: a buyer who needs the proceeds from the sale at home has a different offer strategy in Florida than one who doesn’t. We share the Florida side’s timeline early, including inspection periods, association approval windows and the likely closing date, so you can plan the sale around it. If your client needs a bridge between the two closings, we tell them to consult a mortgage lender about the options. And when your client wants to buy, sell or invest in your market again later, they come back to you.
Timelines to Expect
Two parts of the timeline are commitments: the referral agreement goes to your broker the same day you send the referral, and your client hears from a BreakThru agent within one business day of it being signed. After that, the pace is your client’s. Some arrive with a job start date and need a rental within weeks; others spend a season visiting before they buy. A few things add time in South Florida and are worth telling your client about up front: many condominium associations must approve a buyer or tenant before closing or move-in, insurance quotes on older homes may wait on a four-point inspection, and a new flood policy through the NFIP usually has a thirty-day waiting period. If the timeline slips, you hear why.
Situations Agents Refer to Us
Most out-of-state referrals fall into a handful of patterns, and each one raises its own questions. We take the time to understand which one your client is in before showing a single home, because the right property for a snowbird is often wrong for a family relocating for good. Where taxes or residency come into it, we point your client to their CPA or tax adviser and to an attorney; states such as New York and California look closely at whether someone who leaves has truly changed domicile, and that is not a question a real estate agent should answer.
- Snowbirds buying a seasonal home who will keep their domicile elsewhere, and so will not claim a Florida homestead
- Retirees making Florida their permanent home, often weighing a condo against a single-family house
- Job transfers to Miami, Fort Lauderdale or Palm Beach who need to rent first and buy once they know the area
- Families whose school assignment depends on the address, which we always tell them to verify with the district
- Investors buying rental property, who need association rental rules checked before they make an offer
- Buyers from outside the United States purchasing a second home or a place for family members
What to Send Us
A referral does not need to be long, but a few details let us match the right agent and make the first call useful rather than generic. Send what you know and leave the rest; the agent fills the gaps in conversation. Please only pass on your client’s contact details once they have agreed to hear from us, and tell them to expect the call so it does not land as a surprise. If there is anything sensitive, such as a divorce, a health reason for the move, or a sale that needs to stay quiet, put it in the notes and it stays between our broker of record and yours.
- Your name, brokerage, and the state or country and number of your license
- Your managing broker’s name and email, so the agreement reaches the right person
- Your client’s name and phone or email, shared with their permission
- What they want to do: buy, sell, rent, invest, or something commercial
- Where in South Florida they are looking, their price range, and their timing
Send a Referral
Your details, your client, and what they need. Our broker sends the referral agreement to your broker before anyone contacts your client.
Call or email the brokerage directly: (786) 914-1017 · sales@breakthrurealty.com
Questions About Referrals
- Can I show my client homes in Florida myself?
- Not as their agent. Florida requires a Florida license to provide real estate services on Florida property for compensation, and that includes showing, negotiating and advising on the contract. You are welcome to join your client on a visit as someone they trust, but the BreakThru agent does the licensed work. If you are unsure where the line sits for you, ask your broker.
- How much is the referral fee, and when is it paid?
- It is the fee in our standard referral agreement, set out on the referral program page at /agent-referrals. It is written into the agreement between our broker and yours before your client is contacted, and it is paid to your brokerage at closing from the settlement statement, with a copy for your records.
- What if my client never buys?
- Then no fee is owed by anyone, and neither you nor your client pays anything for the referral. There is no cost to the client for our time, and if we think another kind of help would serve them better, such as renting for a season first, we will say so to them and to you.
- I am licensed outside the United States. Can I still refer a client?
- Yes, and your client gets the same service either way. Whether a referral fee can be paid depends on how and where you are licensed, so our broker of record confirms that with you before any agreement is signed. If a fee can’t be paid, we tell you before you send the client, not after.
- Will BreakThru try to keep my client after the closing?
- No. We handle the Florida transaction; the relationship stays yours. When your client wants to buy, sell or invest in your market, they go back to you, and if they sell a home in your state while buying here, that listing is yours from the start. Any further South Florida transaction is treated as the referral agreement says.
- How quickly will my client hear from you?
- The referral agreement goes to your broker the same day you send us the referral. Once both brokers have signed it, the BreakThru agent assigned to your client makes contact within one business day, and you get a note confirming that first conversation happened.