Best Online Real Estate Courses (Free, Commercial, and Investment Courses)

Overview: Best Online Real Estate Courses (Free, Commercial, and Investment Courses)

People take real estate courses for a variety of reasons.

They may aspire to become a real estate agent or undergo a career change. In some cases, people take a real estate course to learn more about their own property and how to buy and sell additional properties.

Real estate investing courses are also helpful for individuals looking to park their money in a tangible investment like property.

There are a number of options available for those looking to take real estate training courses, including online real estate courses, free real estate courses, commercial real estate courses, and real estate investment courses.

So You Want to Be a Real Estate Agent? (Real Estate Courses & Online Real Estate Courses)

Each state’s pre-licensing requirements differ, but every state requires aspiring real estate salespeople to complete a certain number of real estate courses. Some states mandate a specific number of hours while others necessitate the completion of specific real estate training courses in core subject areas.

Each state also has specific examinations in addition to residency requirements and good standing in terms of background checks. For instance, Alabama requires a 60-hour pre-license real estate course and a 30-hour post license real estate training course.

In North Dakota, only 45 hours of pre-licensing courses are required. (This is excluding regular, annual post-licensing education that real estate agents need to continue taking to keep their license up to date).

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The state’s licensing board must approve the real estate courses an individual uses to meet the real estate educational requirements.

These real estate training courses and real estate online courses provide the educational foundation that individuals need in order to have a solid understanding of the real estate market and real estate sales.

Real estate courses cover a number of real estate subject areas. Real estate salespeople need to be well-versed in their state’s regulations and federal real estate legislation.

They must also understand real estate market behavior, real estate law, how to facilitate sales, and all of the necessary steps to take before selling a house, including title searching, inspections, and property appraisals. These real estate training courses must also provide a solid understanding of business and finance.

Some individuals actually pursue degrees in business, economics, or finance with a focus in real estate as opposed to pursuing individual real estate courses or online real estate courses.

This can be a great route for those who know early on that they want to pursue a career in real estate and want to receive a comprehensive education.

Real Estate Training Courses: Best Online Real Estate Courses

Those who are making a complete career change may not be ready to take their state’s pre-licensing real estate training courses immediately. They may seek an opportunity to learn more about the industry to see if it is for them, or they may not be extremely confident in their knowledge of the subject matter.

There are several online real estate courses that can help individuals learn the material and feel prepared for their state’s licensing exam and educational requirements.

The difficulty with online real estate courses is that licensing requirements vary from state to state. As a result, individuals searching for real estate courses online must find programs that give them the kind of preparation that is applicable across different jurisdictions.

That said, the fundamental concepts regarding market activity, finance, and economics will be more or less the same across the board with differences in state laws and regulations.

Three popular providers of online real estate courses are Kaplan, Real Estate Express, and Career Webschool. They provide real estate courses that can help prepare people for the educational requirements and real estate licensing exam in several states.

Online Real Estate Courses: Real Estate Express

Real Estate Express offers pre-licensing, online real estate courses for 21 states.

For instance, Real Estate Express offers real estate courses for those trying to get licensed in the state of New York. New York applicants have to take a mandatory 75-hour course as part of their pre-licensing requirement. Real Estate Express offers this real estate training course, which is approved by the New York Real Estate Commission.

Real Estate Express also offers different real estate online courses based on the state. For New York state, those looking for pre-licensing real estate training courses can choose between the Get Started package and the Exam Advantage package.

With the Get Started Package, students get the mandatory 75-Hour Pre-License Course. In addition to this online real estate course, students receive several resources: a Principles of Real Estate Practice ebook, a Real Estate Math Handbook, Education Concierge that functions as an online coach, and the Student Forum.

Students who purchase the Exam Advantage package get access to all of the features in the Get Started package – the 75-hour pre-licensing real estate course and the student resources. In addition to this, the Exam Advantage package also comes with the Exam Prep Master.

The Exam Prep Master provides coaching, state-specific exam questions, practice problems, and more.

Furthermore, the Exam Advantage package comes with the Quick Start Guide that provides helpful information on how students can jumpstart their real estate sales career. Additionally, this package comes with a Pass or Don’t Pay Guarantee.

As mentioned, the online real estate courses offered by Real Estate Express are available for different states. For example, the Real Estate Express set of packages offered for those seeking their license in Alabama is a bit different. Instead of offering just two packages, the Alabama offering includes a third package.

This is because Alabama requires its real estate agents to also take a post-license real estate training course, which is part of Real Estate Express’s Alabama Competitive Edge package, which costs $459.

Don’t Miss: How to Become a Real Estate Investor (Real Estate Investing 101)

Online Real Estate Courses: Career Webschool

Career Webschool offers online real estate courses for 19 states. Career Webschool offers several options for real estate training courses and licensing prep. Its most popular option is the New York Real Estate Course Package.

It includes the mandatory pre-licensing real estate training course, which provides students the option of studying from the comfort of their computer, tablet, or mobile device. It includes exam prep, a real estate math review called MathMaster, and a virtual study program in the form of weekly webinars that explain and reinforce concepts.

Additionally, this online real estate courses package offered by Career Webschool comes with a guarantee that those who do not pass the state exam the first time will receive a reimbursement for the fee of their second exam. This course costs students $249.

Career Web School also offers much more variety for those looking for flexibility when it comes to their online real estate courses. These options come at a variety of different price points as well.

Online Real Estate Courses: Kaplan Real Estate Education

Kaplan Real Estate Education is one of the most popular names when it comes to real estate training courses. Kaplan offers classroom real estate courses in addition to online real estate courses. For consistency’s sake, we will use Kaplan’s New York real estate course packages as examples.

The real estate online courses offered by Kaplan can be taken at the student’s leisure. If a student decides to take a break from study, they can pick up where they left off when they return. Additionally, students using Kaplan online real estate courses have access to an instructor that can provide guidance and clarification every step of the way.

There are several online real estate course packages that individuals can choose from:

New York 75-Hour Salesperson Qualifying Course with Textbook and Master Exam Prep Package: $449
New York 75-Hour Salesperson Qualifying Course: $379
New York 30-Hour Remedial Salespersons Qualifying Course: $199

The New York 75-Hour Salesperson Qualifying Course with Textbook and Master Exam Prep Package for $449 is the most highly recommended online real estate course package on the Kaplan website. Not only do students receive the mandatory real estate training course, they also have access to a comprehensive exam prep resource, The New York Real Estate QBank, where students can take several practice exams.

In addition, students receive the Modern Real Estate Practice in New York textbook. Moreover, students receive access to Kaplan’s Interactive Study Group, which gives learners further support and adds value to the distance education experience.

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Online Real Estate Courses: Of Kaplan, Career Webschool, and Real Estate Express, Who Is the Best?

Out of all three real estate course providers, Kaplan enjoys the most distinguished reputation.

While all three offer convenient study methods, decent course materials and resources, and a variety of packages and prices, Kaplan is consistently cited as the best spot for online real estate courses. As Blogtrepreneur writes, “The Kaplan Real Estate School has been recognized in numerous national studies as the nation’s number 1 online real estate school.”

What Is Real Estate Investing? (Real Estate Investing Courses)

Real estate investing is a popular strategy. For those who are new to investing, the tangibility of a home makes investing feel like less of a gamble than, say, the stock market. Those who are interested in real estate investing may be interested in taking a real estate investment course or just a free real estate investing course online, to start.

Introductory real estate investment courses cover the fundamentals of real estate investing. There are two main kinds of real estate investing.

The first method involves buying a home and renting it out to tenants in an effort to pay off the mortgage by charging rent.

Sometimes owners will charge a little more than the expenses on the house in an effort to turn a monthly profit, whereas others will wait until the house has been completely paid off, at which point most of the rent becomes profit.

Other do so by buying shares in a publicly traded real estate company that manages and rents out properties itself. Instead of investing in real estate by buying a house, individuals can do so indirectly by buying shares in companies that do that on a large scale.

A real estate investing course can provide the basic knowledge individuals need to be strategic about their real estate investments if they wish to take a proactive role.

You can find real estate investing courses on a state-by-state basis. New York Real Estate Institute offers a real estate investing training program.

The institute enjoys mostly positive reviews and offers quick educational options and tools for those who are interested in learning more about real estate investing.

There are a variety of options available for those seeking real estate courses and real estate education. Whether you are making a career change, or you are simply interested in learning more about the real estate industry, there are a range of resources and educational tools available both in class and online to help you get started.

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