A real estate referral checklist should treat any change in receiving agent, brokerage, email address, phone number, document link, referral terms, or payment instructions as a new verification event. Confirm current Nevada license and brokerage status in the regulator’s record, use an independently established business contact, preserve client consent, and obtain written acknowledgement of the accepted next action. A familiar thread or detailed client reference does not authenticate a changed destination.
Freeze the last verified handoff state
Record the exact receiving licensee, brokerage, responsible broker, business email, phone number, client consent, scope, referral agreement version, compensation terms, next action, deadline, and follow-up owner. This becomes the comparison point when a later message proposes a change.
Verify the changed identity or brokerage
If the receiving person, team, brokerage, or responsible broker changes, pause the transfer. Recheck the current NRED record, independently call the verified brokerage, and confirm who now owns the client response. A forwarded email or updated signature block is not enough.
Authenticate a new communication channel
Do not move client information to a new address, phone number, portal, cloud folder, or messaging account solely because the request appears in the existing thread. Use the previously verified channel or an official independently sourced number to confirm the change and who authorized it.
Separate client consent from internal payment terms
Client consent covers the relationship handoff; referral compensation and payment instructions belong in brokerage-controlled documentation. If a payee, account, method, amount, or timing changes, verify it through the responsible brokers and approved financial process without exposing client information unnecessarily.
Preserve the minimum necessary client record
Transfer only the consented facts needed for the receiving professional to act: client goal, property or market context, timing, communication preference, stated question, and agreed next step. Sensitive identity, financial, medical, immigration, family, and transaction documents require a justified secure channel and appropriate authority.
Close the change with dual acknowledgement
Record who requested the change, which independent source verified it, what old destination is superseded, what new destination is approved, which referral document controls, what the receiving side accepted, and when the client will hear from them. Delivery alone does not prove continuity.
FAQ
What should I do if the receiving agent’s email changes?
Pause sensitive-data transfer and confirm the new address through the previously verified brokerage or another independently established channel. Record who authorized the change.
Should referral payment instructions be accepted by email?
Do not rely on email alone for a new payee, account, method, or other material change. Use brokerage-controlled documentation and an independently verified confirmation process.
What belongs in a real estate referral checklist?
Include consent, verified receiver and brokerage, approved contact path, client goal, scope, timing, controlling referral agreement, accepted next action, change history, and follow-up owner.
Primary sources and limits
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, Business Email Compromise
- Nevada Real Estate Division, License Lookup
- Nevada Real Estate Division, Active Licensee Lists
General education only. A website, email, text, caller ID, attachment, portal message, social profile, estimate, contract, license screenshot, bank detail, title, badge, vehicle, testimonial, prior relationship, or urgent deadline does not by itself authenticate a person, company, professional status, payment instruction, account, mover, broker, carrier, qualified intermediary, or receiving agent. Verify the current identity, authority, regulator or institutional record, independently sourced contact path, documents, account-change process, recipient, scope, consent, deadlines, custody or payment controls, escalation owner, and written acknowledgement with the responsible financial institution, title or escrow company, carrier, regulator, brokerage, qualified intermediary, CPA, attorney, insurer, law-enforcement agency, or other qualified professional as appropriate. No individualized legal, tax, contract, engineering, environmental, lending, insurance, privacy, compliance, securities, or investment advice is provided.
Related: building the referral handoff, preserving a client question, start a referral conversation.