As a prospective real estate agent, you have lots of options when it comes to deciding on the best online real estate school. Inside this informative article, we examine three leading online real estate schools that could enable you to complete your state’s pre-licensing requirements and pass your state’s licensing exam.
Greatest Online Real Estate School: Brightwood
Brightwood Real Estate Education (previously Kaplan Real Estate Education) is our recommended online real estate school since their online delivery imitates an in-classroom experience while still giving you the convenience of self-paced research, and Brightwood gets excellent student reviews.
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Brightwood vs. Career Webschool vs. Real Estate Express Comparison
| Which are courses offered? | Price of Courses | Length of time to finish class | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Extended in 17 countries |
$179- $1399 | Self-paced Up to 6 months |
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Extended in 19 countries |
$79- $519 | Self-paced Up to 6 months (Three 60-day extensions are allowed) |
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Extended in 25 states |
$79.20 – $615.20 | Self-paced Up to 6 months |
| Learn More | Learn More | Learn More |
Best Overall Online Real Estate School: Brightwood
Brightwood Real Estate Education (formerly Kaplan Real Estate Education) provides a top of the line learning experience by simulating live classroom education. Every year, Brightwood instructs nearly 34,000 licensed and potential real estate pros, and it gets good reviews from former students.
You don’t need to have a Brightwood path to pass the licensing exam. However, Brightwood pupils have strong pass rates on their exams, and the classes will help you absorb and retain information that you will use as a realtor. .
Brightwood Real Estate Education provides you a classroom experience without you having to leave the comfort of your own home or office. For some states, Brightwood has a unique online shipping system known as”OnDemand Learning.” You can watch video recordings of instructor-led classes at your own speed –you can pause the movie or rewind it. Also, Brightwood has weekly interactive study groups where the instructor leads a webinar on a selected subject, and students get to discuss it and ask questions. Should you ever have questions regarding course content whilst studying, your instructors are just an email away and will respond within 24-48 hours.
Present real estate agents who took Brightwood classes give Brightwood good testimonials. It’s a very small number of complaints on the Better Business Bureau.
On the downside, Brightwood is significantly more expensive than Career Webschool and Real Estate Express. Its online courses begin at $179 at Mchigan, whereas the other two begin at about $79. But, Brightwood includes exam prep, research groups, and other helpful features into that $179 package. Brightwood does not offer a payment plan or even a money back guarantee for online classes if you do not pass the exam.
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Greatest Budget Online Real Estate School: Career Webschool
If you are on a budget, Career Webschool and Real Estate Express offer some cheaper options for online real estate courses. Our top pick for best budget real estate school is Career Webschool since it has better student reviews than Real Estate Express and a good way of understanding and retention.
Career Webschool’s courses begin at $79, while Brightwood’s start at $179. For $79, you can find a basic course that meets your required pre-licensing hours also gives you all of the info you need to pass the exam. They offer email interaction with instructors as well as weekly interactive webinars led by class instructors.
Career Webschool gets good reviews from former students and property professionals. In contrast, Real Estate Express has inferior Yelp testimonials and lots of complaints against it have been registered with the Better Business Bureau. We were particularly concerned because the vast majority of all BBB complaints were about the caliber of the instruction rather than about secondary matter like billing.
According to Career Webschool, what sets it apart from other colleges is their approach to learning and retention. They deliver information in tiny chunks (every study session is no more than 20-30 minutes ), provide you miniature quizzes to test your comprehension immediately after each semester, and repeat information so that you master it. They also assert to focus on concepts rather than just memorizing facts. Career Webschool states their teaching format makes material simple to comprehend and retain without so much as taking notes.
Fit Small Business is partnering with Career WebSchool to offer online real estate courses.
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Other Alternatives: Real Estate Express
Owned and operated by McKissock LLC, Real Estate Express presents solid real estate licensing instruction at reasonable prices. Although we believed that Brightwood was a far better overall choice because of access to different class delivery formats, Real Estate Express is still a solid option. Their pass rates are as large as Brightwood’s in most states, plus they offer a 100% refund if you are not pleased with their courses after the first week.
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In-Depth Review: Brightwood vs. Career Webschool vs. Real Estate Express
Which States Are Online Real Estate Classes Offered In?
Since licensing occurs on a state-by-state foundation, you need to take courses which are accepted by your country’s real estate division. If you reside in a more compact state that is not covered by Brightwood Real Estate Education, Real Estate Express, or Career Webschool, it is possible to take your pre-licensing courses at a nearby school or university. Some local colleges and universities have distance learning choices so that you are able to take the classes from the convenience of your home or office.
Price of Real Estate Licensing Courses
Real estate college will cost you roughly $100 to $600, depending on which class package you select. To illustrate the range of class packages, we’ll take California as an example. To provide a context, California requires 135 hours of pre-licensing courses, divided into 45 hours Real Estate Principles, 45 hours on Real Estate Practice, and 45 hours on an elective such as Real Estate Law or Finance.
Exam Pass Rates by School
Some states publish test pass rates based on educational supplier. Here’s a breakdown of first-time property agent exam pass rates for the 3 suppliers in Texas, Colorado, and Washington.
| Texas | Colorado | Washington | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brightwood Real Estate Education | 67 percent | 70 percent | 60 percent |
| Real Estate Express | No data available | No data available | No data available |
| Career Webschool | 63% | 40% | 60 percent |
*Washington and Colorado department pass rates for your state and national portions of the exam. We averaged the provider’s pass rates for the two sections to reach the provider’s overall pass rate.
Exam Preparation & Practice Exams Offered?
All three suppliers offer examination prep and practice exams that will assist you pass your state’s certification exam. You need to obtain a class package that includes practice exams and exam prep sessions. Remember, you cannot get your property agent license unless you pass both your course final exam along with your statewide final exam. Exam prep makes it possible to feel confident about all these. If you are the sort of person who gets nervous during evaluations or just wants to be sure you understand the material, doing examination prep is a fantastic idea.
If you’re on a small budget, you can find practice tests online for free, but you can not always guarantee they are up-to-date, and the answer key does not always provide explanations for every answer.
Since the examination prep offerings vary slightly based on the state you are in, we will again use California for example.
Instructor Q&A and Study Groups
Most online real estate schools make teachers available via email or telephone so that distance learners can find the most out of their courses and ask questions. Brightwood even has an interactive study team that a study from MIT shows improves learning. Take advantage of those things if you’re struggling with course content.
Length of Time to Complete Online Course
The most appealing thing about online courses is the advantage and the flexibility they offer you the student. With all those three providers, you can complete the course at your own pace. That said, the longer you take to complete the course, the more likely you are to forget stuff learned early on. This can make passing the exam much more difficult. If at all possible try and schedule your class time to finish the course within a month or two.
Some states limit how fast you are able to finish the course. For example, California requires one to take a training course test after each of the 3 required sections, and you need to wait at least 18 times between segments.
Tuition Assistance and Money Back Guarantees
Can They Offer a Demo Class?
Often the best way to find out if a college is ideal for you would be to watch a demo course. Each of the providers has online videos that show the way their courses work.
Brightwood (Kaplan) Demo Course Video
Career Webschool Demo Course Video
To see a presentation of Real Estate Express, see their homepage, and click on”3-Minute Quick Tour” in the peak of the page.
Course Formats Offered
Real Estate Express and Career Webschool only provide online courses, but Brightwood delivers additional options.
Continuing Education Courses
The majority of states mandate that you take continuing education courses after you get your real estate license to keep your license active. Brightwood, Real Estate Express, and Career Webschool provide online continuing education courses, so that you may perform your pre-licensing and post-licensing classes at precisely the exact same provider. You don’t need to spend time finding another provider for continuing education classes. You may learn more about continuing education requirements within our guide on getting your real estate agent license.
Since continuing education is required to maintain your license in most states, many brokers either don’t take it seriously, or go for the cheapest online alternative available. In our opinion, this can be a big missed opportunity.
When many countries mandate agents take certain number of hours of fair housing material due to their continuing education requirement, there are a number of different options available which can help you improve as an agent. By way of instance, Brightwood provides continuing education courses covering sustainable housing and green construction practices, understanding credit and improving credit scores, and introductions to commercial real estate and property investing to name a couple. You ought to look at the continuing education requirement as a way to be a better agent and close more deals instead of just a chore.
The Bottom Line: Who Is the Best Online Real Estate School?
Our choice for the best online real estate college is Brightwood. They come closest to simulating an in-person class with video records of instructor-led classes and interactive research groups where you can discuss real estate topics with the instructor and other pre-licensing students. In addition to providing an engaging learning experience, Brightwood’s examination prep review sessions and practice exams help prepare you for test day, and they have higher pass rates in many states to establish it.
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