We hear you, really we do. Nobody wants to feel humiliated just to get leads. But what if I told you rock star Beverly Hills agent Ben Bacal used door knocking to land clients like Leonardo DiCaprio and even knocked on Keanu Reeve’s and Grant Cardone’s doors? You’d want to learn more, right? Well, you’re in luck! 

In this article, I go over everything you need to know about door knocking for real estate, including the best scripts and 15 door-knocking tips to get more leads. I’ll wrap up with my 2 cents on whether or not door knocking is still effective after the pandemic.

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The Best Door Knocking Scripts for 2022 (+ Video Examples)

1. Ben Bacal’s Beverly Hills Door-knocking Scripts

If you’ve been an agent for more than a few months, chances are you’ve heard of Ben Bacal. He’s one of the most successful luxury agents in Beverly Hills—he sold a Bel Air home for a record-breaking $94 million and has sold homes to Matt Damon, Ellen DeGeneres, and Madonna.

What most agents don’t know is that Ben Bacal got his start in real estate door knocking. Here are Ben’s general door-knocking script and the script he uses for “drive knocking” mansions with gates and intercoms:

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General Door-knocking Script:

“Your house is amazing. If there is any possibility of bringing a buyer your way, would you be interested in selling?”

Drive Knocking Script:

“Sorry to bother you, but my client saw your property on Google Maps and you can’t see it from the street. You probably don’t want to sell it but maybe you do, she is a serial entrepreneur you’ve seen on TV. She’s looking for a property in the range of XX-XX. Maybe you can let me see your property to see if it might work for her.”

2. Sean Moudry’s Door-knocking Script for Listing Agents

Trying to come up with a value proposition to justify knocking on a stranger’s door on a Sunday morning isn’t easy. The best value proposition you have as an agent is a track record of success selling homes in their neighborhood. So if you have a recent listing that received multiple offers, print them out, black out the personal information, and put together a mini-presentation you can use as a talking point. Now that you have a reason to be there, here is a script you can use from Sean Moudry:

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“Hello, sorry to bother you. My name is [your name] and I am the listing agent for the property down the street [point in the direction of the property]. We received multiple offers [waive the printed contracts in front of them] and, of course, we can only accept one. The home sold well above asking price and these other buyers are still looking for a home in [neighborhood]. Who do you know who would like to sell their home in this HOT MARKET?”

3. Monica Carr’s Beginner’s Door-knocking Script

Coldwell Banker agent Monica Carr went from broke to earning a million dollars in real estate through building a brand and door knocking. The script she used was dead simple, but highly effective. First, because it gave her a valid reason to knock on a stranger’s door, and second, because it built enough curiosity to spark conversations with homeowners. Here is her script from her TomX talk:

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“Hi, I’m Monica. Your neighbor just sold their home for $1.5 million. What did you think of that price? Did you get a chance to see it at the open house? That one sold for multiple offers. There are still people out there who want to live in your neighborhood. For the right price, would you consider selling your home?”

You can hear Monica explain her script in more detail and share her inspirational story in her TomX talk How to Earn $1 Million in Real Estate in 4 Steps with Absolutely NO BUDGET below, which has been viewed over 700,000 times.

4. Eri Hass’ Market Report Door-knocking Script 

A former music industry executive, Eric Hass started his real estate career door knocking in one of the most expensive cities on earth— Los Angeles. While most agents probably think door knocking million-dollar homes would be pointless, Eric disagrees. Here’s how he framed the issue in his interview with Mike Sherrard: “Luxury doesn’t mean $#$%, it’s just another zero on the price, and those people need to sell too.” 

Like Monica’s script, Eric’s script is simple, friendly, and offers homeowners something to be curious about to spark conversation. Here is the script:

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“Hi, it’s Eric Hass, I’m with EXP Realty and I’m stopping by with a housing update on [your farm area], keeping you dialed in with what’s going on with quarter one versus quarter four, and I’m stopping by to see if you have any questions or interest in moving anytime soon.”

Watch Eric explain his script and go over his best door-knocking tips in his interview with Mike Sherrard here:

5. Micah Mruwat’s Home Valuation Door-knocking Script

Real estate coach and former EXP Managing Broker Micah Mruwat is another industry thought leader who is bullish on door knocking. Like the other agents here, Micah starts off by introducing herself and wraps up by offering something of value that will stir curiosity and spark a conversation.

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“Hi, my name is Micah Mruwat from EXP Realty. I promise I won’t take much of your time, I just want a couple of seconds—did you realize that a home just a few houses down just sold for $50,000 over asking price? I don’t know if you have any interest, but I am an expert in the area if you’d like a free valuation of your home.”

Watch Micah explain her script in more detail and go over other door-knocking tips in her video here:

16 Door-knocking Tips to Get More Leads in 2022

1. Don’t Ask for Business, Offer to Help 

Chris Linsell, Senior Staff Writer/Real Estate Coach, Theclose.com 

One of the biggest mistakes new agents make when door knocking is trying to hard-sell total strangers on their doorstep. Unless you have a stellar track record in their neighborhood, this will turn off most homeowners. Instead, focus on how you can help them. The distinction is subtle, but important. Check out Chis Linsell’s video below for a quick run-through of his door-knocking strategy and why it works.

2. Don’t Forget to Bring Your Door Hangers

One of the best leave-behinds you can use when door knocking are door hangers. Simply put, they have one of the best returns on investment (ROI) of anything you can print and put in front of your leads. Full stop.

Illinois Coldwell Banker Broker Danielle Procopio agrees:

“Never miss the opportunity to ‘touch’ a lead. If no one is home, we’ll leave a laminated door hanger with a personalized message and attempt to connect with the homeowners at least four times, and then mail them a neighborhood market analysis. Always follow up with a letter, postcard, phone call, and so on. You want to be seen as the neighborhood expert.”

You can get gorgeous custom-designed door hangers as well as social media templates, business card templates, and more at Lab Coat Agents (LCA) Marketing Center. LCA Marketing Center is similar to Canva, but everything they offer was designed for and by top-producing Realtors. The difference in quality is massive.

Visit Lab Coat Agents Marketing Center

3. Don’t Try to Close the Deal on Their Doorstep

The cardinal rule of any real estate lead generation strategy is to only focus on moving relationships to the next step. In the case of door knocking, that next step is generally either a phone call, being added to a direct mail or drip campaign, or if you’re really lucky, a listing presentation.

While you may be eager to close deals, pushing too hard for goals that are unrealistic is a surefire way to get a door slammed in your face. Sure, you want to seem confident and maybe even a little bit hungry to close, but most people instantly turn off when presented with a “sales pitch,” no matter how good it is. This is especially true when you’re standing on their doorstep on a Sunday morning.

So do yourself a favor and save the hard sell for your listing presentation or better yet, when you’re finally writing an offer for your buyer. Instead, focus on just moving the ball down the field. What next step do you realistically want your homeowner to take with you? A phone call? A visit to your open house? Focus on that and you’ll have much better luck knocking doors.

4. A Small Compliment Can Go a Long Way in Building Rapport

A compliment, if it’s sincere, is one of those ice breakers that has probably worked since the last ice age and will continue to work for a thousand years. So the next time you’re out door knocking, try to find something genuine to compliment the homeowner on.

Cindy Trotier, a Coldwell Banker agent from Illinois, uses small compliments to break the ice with homeowners whenever she can.

“When prospecting, it’s important to find common ground with the potential client, and complimenting them on their home goes a long way. Start with: ‘Nice yard, you certainly have a green thumb,’ or ‘Those are beautiful flowers.’ Make the conversation about them, not you. Additionally, share something of value along with your business card (e.g., market area report). Ultimately, you want to build relationships first.”

5. Leverage Your Brokerage’s Success if You’re a Newer Agent

Another hard and fast rule of lead generation is that you need to have something on the table that your leads actually want. That can be something as abstract as a conversation or advice, or something as concrete as a well-researched comparative market analysis (CMA) or market report.

If you feel like you have nothing to offer, then you’re doing it wrong. Just by virtue of having access to your MLS, you have more information at your fingertips than the average homeowner. It’s just a matter of packaging that data in creative and useful ways. Why not hire a virtual assistant to put together 20 CMAs for homes in a neighborhood you want to target?

Sure, that will cost you money, but how many other agents are going the extra mile like that? As Close Contributor Beverly Ruffner always says: You only need to be a little bit better than the competition.

But you don’t even need to go this far. Instead, you can just leverage your brokerage’s success. Many large brokerages like Douglas Elliman create market reports specifically for their agents to use as marketing pieces. A hot-off-the-press market report can be very useful for homeowners who may not be paying attention to the market … YET.

Just remember that data on its own is cheap these days. The real value comes from analyzing and packaging that data in ways that are useful to your potential customers.

6. Allow Yourself to Fail in Order to Get Better

If you’ve worked in real estate for more than 10 minutes or own a television, you’ve probably heard of Barbara Corcoran. What you may not know about Barbara is that she grew up poor, dyslexic, and was waiting tables before she decided to become a real estate agent.

Fast forward a few years and she ended up selling her innovative brokerage, The Corcoran Group, for more than $66 million. Like many entrepreneurs, she credits her amazing success to learning lessons from failure.

So now you may be sitting here thinking this is the sappiest cliche of all time, and why are you even reading this? Well, let’s just say that successful people didn’t get that way without breaking a few eggs. So smile and laugh when someone slams a door in your face, learn to meditate, start a healthy morning routine, and always remember that you’re not a brain surgeon—you’re just trying to close some deals. So don’t be so hard on yourself. Things are going to work out, but you need to let yourself fail first. It won’t kill you. I promise.

7. Dress for Success, but Don’t Forget Comfort

One of the best-kept secrets of success in any sales job shouldn’t be a secret at all. Here it goes: People are going to judge you, and harshly, based on your appearance. Yes, we know it’s not fair, and yes, we know you really think your leads won’t care if you show up in sweatpants and a T-shirt to show them houses. We’ve heard these arguments over and over again. Of course, that doesn’t make them right. 

Far from it, actually. In reality, people, especially the older people who own the majority of the homes in this country, are going to judge you for what you wear, and there’s nothing you can do about it. As long as you’re comfortable, dress as nicely as you can when you’re out door knocking.

Not sure how to dress to impress? Luckily, we put together guides for women and men on how to dress, and more importantly, how NOT to dress to close more deals.

8. Make Some Fun Pop-by Gifts & Bring Them With You

Texas Coldwell Banker agent Andrea Smith swears by pop-by gifts:

“Create some fun, well-thought-out pop-bys that convey your message. When Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, I attach my business cards to a small bag of chocolate hearts that say, ‘You’re the heart of my business.’ It’s a great way to help people remember me and begin a positive interaction as I’m out knocking doors. I feel like the addition of a special touch helps to open the door to a better opportunity to generate a lead or referral.”

Pop-by gifts are small gifts that you can leave with homeowners in order to get them to remember you. Things like candy, seeds, or any other small gift with your message and contact info will work. Cheesy jokes optional, but kind of encouraged.

9. Learn the Best Days & Times to Door Knock in Your Farm Area

Learning when to knock doors is like asking which baseball team is the best. No matter who you ask, you’re going to get a different answer. But there is a general consensus from people who use door knocking as their primary lead generation strategy:

Saturdays between 10 a.m. & 5 p.m.

Most people are home, but are more than likely still in get-stuff-done mode instead of full-on relax mode, like they are on Sundays. The only caveat here is neighborhoods where observant Jewish people live. In that case, you just might want to wait until Sunday, as Saturdays are days of rest in the Jewish religion.

And likewise, knocking on doors on Sunday if your community is devoutly Christian may not be well received. In short, know your audience and respect their private time.

8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. during the week

Another good time to door knock that most people skip is in the morning during the weekday. You’ll catch a lot of entrepreneurs, home workers, and retired people who are just getting their day together, and so may be more receptive to dealing with “work.”

10. Invite Them to the First Open House at a New Listing

I don’t know about you, but I’m always desperately curious to see how my neighbors live. What does that cool-looking brownstone with the cute little yard look like inside? I bet it’s nice …

In order to satiate their curiosity, always take the time to door knock in a circle around a new listing before you have that all-important first open house. It not only helps you look good to your homeowner (neighbors gossip), but might just help keep you top of mind with the neighbors as well.

Minnesota Sotheby’s Shawn Leetz takes advantage of the curiosity factor to help drive traffic to her open houses:

“Before the first open house at a new listing, I will door knock to hand out personal invitations to the neighbors, introducing myself and letting them know that it is always a good idea to know what is going on in their neighborhood. Also, I like to let them know that it’s OK to come and take a peek; some folks are shy about walking through their neighbor’s home. Not only does this engage the community, but this is another way to offer value to your client (the seller).”

Need some ideas to actually generate leads at your next open house? Check out our guide to open houses here.

11. Avoid Burnout: Don’t Try to Knock Too Many Doors in One Day

Contrary to popular belief, being physically and emotionally exhausted at noon is not a signal that you worked hard, and definitely not a signal that you were effective. It’s a signal that you’re stressed, tired, and probably cranky to boot. Basically the exact opposite mindset you need for a successful door-knocking campaign. Who wants to talk to a stressed-out stranger on their doorstep? The answer, of course, is literally no one.

So if you want to avoid burnout, set yourself a realistic goal of say, 20 doors to knock before you head to the office or start your open house this weekend. If you don’t believe us, just imagine knocking that super-lucky door where a millionaire who wants to sell lives and being too wiped out to build a rapport with her.

12. Track Your Progress: That Which Gets Measured, Gets Improved

One thing many agents forget when out door knocking is to track their progress. How many doors did you knock? How many doors got slammed in your face? Which doors should you absolutely avoid next time? Which seemed kind of promising? Who seems like a decent candidate for a direct mail campaign?

You don’t have to hire MIT to crunch the numbers for you here. Just keep a little log book or notepad app on your phone and take some notes when you’re out door knocking.

You also need to measure your performance if you want to get better. What went right? What went wrong? Does your script need tweaking? Are you getting less nervous or more nervous?

13. Ask Open-ended Questions: Avoid Yes or No Questions

Want to know a secret to not being boring? Get people to talk about themselves and then really listen to what they’re saying. That’s it. Easy, right? Well, yes and no. After all, you have a pretty clear agenda here, right? You’re not just walking your farm area at 8:30 a.m. on a Tuesday to chat about the weather.

Not only does the same rule apply to door knocking, but it’s actually crucial to your success. Think about it. You have maybe 15 seconds to get and keep their attention. Even if you’re super-charming, they’re probably looking for an easy excuse to get back to their newspaper and bagels. Answering a simple yes or no is one of those excuses.

So to avoid giving them an easy out, never ask questions that can be answered by a simple yes or no. Instead, try to get them engaged in a conversation by asking open-ended questions and actually listening to their answers instead of just waiting for your turn to talk.

14. Stay Safe: Knock With a Partner

Since safety should be one of your main concerns, you might want to think about finding a partner to door knock with. It could be a junior agent who needs to work on their pitching skills or an equal team member, but the facts are that pairing up is almost always safer than going it alone.

By the way, this applies just as much to “safe” neighborhoods as it does to neighborhoods with higher crime rates. The simple fact is you never know who is going to answer that door, so having a buddy across the street watching your back is always a good idea.

It could just be a creepy old man who gets too flirty, but a quick “Hey, would love to chat more but my partner is across the street” should be enough to throw cold water on most people.

While the odds of getting into trouble are pretty rare, you never know. As an added bonus, you’ll have a margarita partner if you decide to knock off early.

15. Don’t Be Afraid of Luxury Neighborhoods

Can we talk about super-attractive people for a minute here? If there’s one thing they say over and over again, it’s that fewer, not more, people hit on them. While this might seem counterintuitive, it makes sense when you think about it. After all, most people assume they have no chance, so they don’t even bother.

Well, you can think about wealthy neighborhoods like that super-hot guy in your spin class. You might have a low chance of getting his digits, but if you don’t go talk to him, you have ZERO chance. Why not give it a shot?

The other good part of knocking on rich people’s doors is that they’re more likely to be entrepreneurs—and maybe also more likely to be self-made entrepreneurs who appreciate a good hustle! Maybe some eccentric billionaire will take a shine to you and give you 10 listings to sell this year. Hey, you never know until you try, right?

16. Good Deeds Can Help Build Good Will in Your Farm Area

If you want to get in good with the locals, there’s nothing like doing something selfless and useful for the community. I don’t know about you, but whenever I see someone helping others in my neighborhood, I can’t help but like them.

Like a lot of successful agents, Texas Coldwell Banker agent Scott Bullard started out with empty pockets, but a deep desire to help his community:

“I started with no money, so I had to be creative. I had a T-shirt made with my real estate company in big letters, and walked my neighborhood at strategic times to come face to face with as many people as possible while I picked up any trash that I saw and disposed of it. I also went around collecting email addresses of my neighbors and started a weekly e-newsletter.”

The 30,000-Foot View: Is Door Knocking Still Effective in 2022?

If you had asked us this question in April 2020, we probably would have said no. There were just too many unknowns about the pandemic for us to even think about telling agents that knocking on strangers’ doors was a good idea.

Of course, now with multiple successful vaccines being distributed and Omicron waning, we are once again bullish on door knocking for one simple reason: Agents have been relying on technology to generate leads way, way too much over the past few years.

These days, it seems like every agent is obsessed with perfecting custom audiences for Facebook ads, or trying (and failing) to go “viral” on Instagram instead of honing the one skill they need to last in this industry: making a personal connection with another human being.

So, the more everyone in your office leans into technology, get up, go outside, and go knock some doors.

Over to You

Do you think door knocking will disappear or make a huge comeback in 2022? Let us know in the comments.

The post Door Knocking for Real Estate in 2022: Will It Still Work? (+ Tips & Scripts) appeared first on The Close.

Luckily, beating a cash offer on a house is not as hard as many agents think. We’ll share our strategies to improve your offer by reducing the negative aspects of financing while creatively solving some of the other concerns a seller may have. Here are the top 10 that have helped my team successfully beat out cash offers—yes, even in this red hot market.

Disclaimer: All suggestions mentioned in this article are for informational purposes only. We are not offering legal advice. Laws and restrictions are different in each area. Check with your local real estate commission and attorney for guidance before using any of the techniques listed.

1. Use a Cash Lender

One of the best ways to beat a cash offer is simply to transform your offer into a cash offer by using a cash lender. Born from the needs of mortgage buyers to compete with cash buyers, cash lenders will buy a home with cash then allow the buyer to refinance or purchase the property after closing. 

Here’s how it works. Once a buyer is qualified with a cash lender like Homeward Mortgage, they can select a house and Homeward will place a cash offer on the property. Once the property is purchased, the buyer rents the property from Homeward until their loan is finalized.

There is a charge for this service. The fee is about 2%, but it is reduced if the buyer uses Homeward Mortgage for their final loan. For buyers with a home to sell, they also offer a buy with cash before you sell option.

2. Submit Your Offer Early

Competing with cash offers can be stressful, but don’t give up hope. Many listing agents today will not review the offers for three to four days after the property becomes active. This allows more buyers to have the opportunity to see the property so the seller can receive more offers. 

Some buyer’s agents believe the best strategy is to wait until the last minute before submitting an offer. Don’t do this! We have found that the best practice is to submit your offers early! 

There is nothing worse than finding out the day before the offer deadline that the seller got tired of having to be out of the house for showings and decided to accept an offer the day before. Think of it this way: If your buyer’s offer is on the table, at least they will have a fighting chance, and if you follow some of my other suggestions, your buyer’s offer may even win!

3. Offer a Signing Bonus

A common seller negotiation tactic today is to hold all offers through the weekend and present all the offers received on Monday. This allows the listing agent to pit desperate buyers against each other and drive the price up even further. This technique also increases the chance of getting a cash offer that sweeps the rest of the competition.

The best way to overcome this is to offer a “signing bonus” for accepting your buyer’s offer quickly. To be successful at this, your buyer must put their best foot forward and make the “signing bonus” the highest and best offer they can make.

Assuming the list price of a home is $400,000 and your buyer is willing to pay 10% over asking. Instead of offering $440,000 and waiting through the weekend, structure the offer so the sales price is $420,000, but if the seller accepts the offer within the next four hours, the sales price will be $440,000. A $20,000 bonus just for accepting your offer sooner.

This approach allows your buyer to submit their offer early, eliminating the competition, and the seller gets to feel like they got a fair price. A true WIN-WIN! The best part is if the seller doesn’t accept the offer, it stays in the mix so your buyer can still have a chance to win.

However, to win against cash offers, you need to do more than just offer a signing bonus.

4. Be Memorable & Likable

Winning an offer is a competition—literally. It’s your buyer’s offer against all the other buyers. So, if you want to win against cash offers, you need to be memorable and likable! 

I’ll deny it if asked, but in the past, I have been known to help polite agents that I liked get their offers accepted. On the other hand, I have not lifted a finger to help an agent who was rude and standoffish. So if you want to beat out a cash offer, kill them with kindness. Here are two easy ways you can be more memorable and likable to the listing agent:

Leave Unique Feedback

When your buyer is interested in a property, you have a great opportunity to set the tone. Instead of leaving the same old feedback, mention how your buyer loved the home, the neighborhood, and how they can see themselves living there. 

In many cases, the feedback goes directly to the seller. This is their first impression of your buyer’s offer. Just be mindful not to mention anything about your client that can be considered discriminatory under Fair Housing. 

Think of it as a mini-buyer love letter without the potential issues that love letters present.

Send the Listing Agent an Introductory Video

Next, record a quick introductory video of yourself to the listing agent. (Due to Fair Housing, I don’t include videos of my clients.) Let them know you will be submitting an offer and for them to keep you abreast of any status changes. 

These extra little touches can be the difference between your buyer’s offer being in second or first place!

5. Offer an Appraisal Gap

One of the main reasons cash is king in bidding wars is because of the requirement of an appraisal for mortgages. Bidding wars are causing sales prices to rise far beyond what we as agents or appraisers can realistically justify. 

The difference between the sales price and the lower appraised value is called the appraisal gap. When a financed buyer offers to cover any appraisal gap, they are putting up additional money for the down payment and closing costs. For example, if a property is marketed for $400,000 and it gets bid up to $420,000, the financed buyer may agree to bring in an additional $20,000 in the event the property doesn’t appraise.

Coach your clients who don’t have the additional funds for an appraisal gap to try to restructure their loan to a lower down payment option. If that won’t work, have them ask parents, grandparents, or even borrow from their 401(k) in order to cover the gap in the event the appraisal comes up short.

Remember, they will only need this money if the appraisal comes in lower than the agreed sales price and in most cases, the deficient amount is less than the agreed appraisal gap. While this is a top strategy, today many buyers are offering appraisal gaps. So, to win your offer, you may have to pull out the big guns.

6. Have Your Buyer Pay Your Commission

When you are competing with cash offers, sometimes you have to pull out the big guns. Commissions have always been a touchy topic for buyers and sellers, and many sellers feel that it isn’t fair that they pay commissions for both their agent and the buyer’s agent.

Since this experience, I have successfully used this technique to differentiate my offers to gain an advantage over the competition.

7. Add an Escalation Clause

Escalation clauses often get a bad reputation. However, if used correctly, they are powerful tools that allow your buyers to make their strongest offer without the risk of overpaying compared to the other competing offers. 

For example, a home I sold recently had six offers. This beautiful four-bedroom, three-bathroom home in a small rural town east of Denver was listed for $460,000.

Three of the offers were under $470,000, two were at $480,000, and one was $500,000. The buyer who offered the highest amount had already sold their home (without a contingency to find a new home) and had to find a home ASAP or they were going to have to rent. 

They were in a pinch and because of their situation, they made an over-the-top offer to ensure they would win. What they didn’t know is that the other offers were $20,000 less than their offer. 

To prevent the buyer from overpaying, the buyer’s agent could have made an offer of $475,000 with an escalation clause of $1,000 more than any viable competing offer up to $500,000.

Had they done this, we would have had their offer accepted at $481,000 ($480,000 highest competing offer + $1,000 escalation), thus saving the buyer a whopping $19,000!

This technique is sure to place your buyers in the top spot, but this alone won’t always beat out cash.

8. Pay the Seller’s Closing Costs

While this next tip will give you an edge when the offers are close, sellers today feel like they are getting nickeled and dimed. That sounds funny when they are getting offers 10%+ over asking, but ask a homeseller and that is what they’ll tell you.

In most real estate transactions, the seller pays for the costs of the title insurance, escrow, and homeowner association (HOA) fees. Despite the common practice of having the seller pay for these fees, there isn’t a requirement for the seller to do so. Combined, these fees can range from $1,000 to $5,000, depending on the location, HOA, and the price of the home.

One benefit of this is that in most cases, when the buyer pays for the title policy, they are able to select which title company they wish to purchase the title insurance policy from. If your buyer wants this option, be sure to make this clear in your offer. Also, be sure to get estimates of the fees prior to having your offer accepted, or place a limit on the costs your buyer is willing to pay.

While saving the seller a few thousand dollars seems miniscule compared to the hundreds of thousands buyers are paying for the house, this little gesture goes a long way with some money-conscious sellers.

9. Give the Seller a Flexible Possession Time

Since many sellers also need to buy a home, many get nervous about finding a home they can afford and actually want to buy. To relieve the seller’s fears, your buyer can be flexible with the seller when it comes to them having to move after they sell the home.

Of course, cash offers have an advantage when it comes to flexible possession dates. However, there are two main strategies buyers with financing can use to give the seller more time to move. Each has benefits and drawbacks for both the buyer and the seller. The key is finding the right solution for both parties.

No-cost Rent-back 

If the seller needs time to stay after the home is sold, then a no-cost rent-back can give them time to stay in the home long after the home has been sold. 

The challenge with this strategy arises when your buyer needs a mortgage loan. FHA loans and conventional loans have a requirement that the new buyer occupies the property within 60 days of ownership. If the seller needs more time than that, your buyer may have to qualify for an investment loan.

Recently, our team had a seller who was waiting for their new home to be built. The winning buyer agreed to get an investment loan so they could allow the seller to rent back the home for up to six months after closing. This saved the seller from the cost and inconvenience of having to move twice. Once moved in, the buyer plans to refinance the home to a lower interest rate owner-occupant loan. 

Most states provide a pre-approved form for post-occupancy. To protect your client and yourself, if your state doesn’t provide these forms, advise your client to have a lease drafted by a local real estate attorney.

Replacement Home Contingency

If a no-cost rent-back doesn’t work for your buyer, try using a replacement home contingency. A replacement home contingency is a two- to four-week contingency for the seller to find, contract, and inspect a replacement home. If the seller cannot complete this by the end of the time period, they may extend the time or the buyer or the seller may terminate the contract.

The benefit of this technique is that you don’t run into the 60-day occupancy requirement as you would with other options, since the closing and possession will be coordinated with the seller’s replacement home purchase.  

The downside is that if the seller cannot find a replacement home, they can terminate the contract and stay in their current home. In this case, the buyer may lose any money they paid for inspections and appraisals.

Having good communication with the listing agent and understanding the seller’s needs is key to making deals like this work.

10. Communicate!

I am appalled when I get offers in my inbox from agents who didn’t even bother to call or text before they sent it over. What kind of agent does this? A lazy agent who doesn’t really want to do their job, that’s who!

When writing an offer for my buyers in this competitive market, I want to make accepting it as easy as possible for the listing agent. To do this, I always call the listing agent (yes, on the phone! … and no, not in a text message!) to get a crystal-clear understanding of what the seller’s situation is and how we can draft an offer that meets their specific needs. 

Call me old-school, but I appreciate the details when I’m presenting offers to my sellers. Many of the other listing agents I know do too. So write a detailed cover letter that contains bullet points of key features of the offer, and how the buyer’s offer takes into account the needs of the seller. If needed, explain the buyer’s situation and their financing. 

Lastly, I call or text the listing agent and let them know that I sent them an offer and ask them to confirm that they received it. This shows them that I am proactive and communicative.

Bottom Line

The way to beat out cash offers on a home is to relieve as much stress and eliminate any fears the seller may have. You can do this by writing your offers in a way that reduces the hassles of financing and takes into consideration some of the other concerns a seller may have. We wish you the best in applying my team’s 10 strategies for writing winning offers!

The post How to Compete With Cash Offers: 10 Ways to Write Winning Offers appeared first on The Close.

With so many California real estate schools to choose from, we evaluated the top schools and their online programs. Here, we present our top picks, exploring their packages, features, pricing, quality of instruction, ease of use, and so much more. You’ll find many of these highly ranked real estate schools in California are national industry leaders. Let’s dive in!

6 Best Real Estate Schools in California for 2022

(California prelicensing package prices as of April 2022)

Real Estate Schools in California: Helpful Info

Before choosing a school from our list, you should know that your professional development doesn’t end when you complete your 135-hour prelicensing course. Real estate schools in California generally offer a variety of courses to meet the needs of agents and brokers at various stages of their career.

Prelicensing Courses

Exam Preparation

Continuing Education Courses

Now that you understand the importance of choosing the right online real estate school in California, let’s take a closer look at our top picks and learn why they made the cut.

Best Overall Real Estate School in California: Real Estate Express

Real Estate Express Offers:

• Prelicensing Courses
• Exam Prep
• Continuing Education Courses
• Broker Prelicensing Course

For many reasons, Real Estate Express is our top overall pick. They are one of the most affordable options for your prelicensing course. Plus, they’ve been providing quality online real estate education for a long time, making them a reliable choice.

Real Estate Express feels so confident about the quality of their courses that they offer a “Pass or Don’t Pay” guarantee for all but their most basic package.

These benefits and more make Real Estate Express the obvious choice for those wanting to become a real estate agent in California. Read on to find out what’s included in their packages.

Real Estate Express Pricing

Real Estate Express offers four online self-paced course packages and two livestream courses for those who prefer a more interactive experience. The basic package will get you through the coursework easily. For more in-depth study, you may consider the Ultimate Learning Package, which comes with a textbook and ongoing learning opportunities.

Real Estate Express Online Packages

• The Basic Package ($129):  The perfect course for a self-starter, this package includes your prelicensing course, state-approved instructor support, and three e-books.
• The Exam Preparation Package ($225): Includes all the benefits of the Basic Package, plus Exam Prep materials like practice tests and flashcards, and a Pass or Don’t Pay guarantee.
• Exam Preparation Plus ($349): Includes everything in the previous package, plus a helpful Exam Cram Video and 40 hours of instructor Q&A time.
• Real Estate Express Ultimate Learning Package ($449): You get all of the offerings of the previous package, plus a printed copy of the textbook, and a one-year professional development membership.

Real Estate Express Livestream Packages

• California Livestream Tue/Wed/Thurs Evenings ($449): Choose this livestream package to attend classes on weekday evenings from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Included are your textbook, instructor support, practice exams, Exam Cram video, and more. You’ll also get a Pass or Don’t Pay Guarantee, and an eBook Dictionary.

• California Livestream Tue/Wed/Thurs Evenings ($449):  Choose this livestream package and enjoy all of the above features. Livestream classes are held on weekends from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

(California prelicensing package prices as of April 2022)

FAVORITE FEATURES: Our two favorite features of the Real Estate Express prelicense courses are flexibility and access. We also love the Instructor Q&A, which gives you access to industry professionals who can answer your questions.

Real Estate Express also offers continuing education for licensed California agents, like their popular course Wildfire Risk in Real Estate. Learn about the impact of wildfires, including water resources, disclosures, and home insurance.

ROOM TO IMPROVE: Even though their prelicensing packages are inexpensive, their continuing education and broker courses could be more competitively priced. If cost is an issue, consider The CE Shop as a cost-effective solution.

BOTTOM LINE: You can’t go wrong in choosing Real Estate Express as your online course provider. Their prices are affordable, and the content is highly focused, helping you to pass the California real estate exam.

Enroll Now

Best Real Estate School in California for Career Advice: Kaplan Real Estate Education

Kaplan Offers:

• Prelicensing Courses
• Exam Prep
• Post-Licensing Courses
• Continuing Education
• Agent and Broker Renewal Courses

Kaplan understands that not every student is comfortable learning in a virtual, self-paced format, so they offer live online courses. They still offer courses in video format to view at your own pace, as well as a home study package.

Widely recognized as a giant in the exam prep community, Kaplan has more offerings than most other real estate testing companies. Their real estate course offerings include prelicensure programs, continuing education, and broker exam preparation.

Kaplan Real Estate Education Pricing

Kaplan courses are broken down into three formats: Textbook Home Study, On-Demand Online Videos, and Live Online Classroom.

Kaplan also offers California-specific license renewal courses through their home study and on-demand video packages. The complete license renewal coursework package is available for $144.

• Textbook Home Study Packages (starting at $179): Provides all the content of the 135-hour prelicensing course that’ll prepare you for the California real estate exam, plus access to study webinars and practice questions.
• On-Demand Online Video Packages (starting at $399): The entry-level online video package includes all the necessary content for the California real estate exam, plus on-demand video test reviews.
• Live Online Classroom Packages (starting at $549): This package lets you complete your prelicensing courses from home, where you’ll join live, scheduled online classes led by an instructor (typically in the evening).

(California prelicensing package prices as of April 2022)

FAVORITE FEATURES: Kaplan’s interactive learning options are our favorite feature. Their curriculum designers know that all people learn differently. Kaplan meets the demands of auditory and visual learners, as well as those who learn best by interacting with others.

Another of Kaplan’s features that caught our attention was the Career Launcher Live Online Package. Although pricey, this package includes an interactive study group, plus face-to-face time with a Career Mentor who will help you learn real-world skills and tools that will assist you with your career.

Once you’re licensed, learn how to better serve your millennial clients by enrolling in Kaplan’s on-demand, continuing education course called Millennials: Challenging the Traditional Real Estate Model. Learn how to change your branding and image to appeal to this discerning demographic.

ROOM TO IMPROVE: Some online reviews have noted low video quality for the on-demand videos. Other reviewers have complained about the cost. Overall, if you do not have concerns about the pricing, Kaplan does offer a one-stop shop for your prelicense and relicense coursework needs.

If you are looking for less expensive options, you may want to consider others on this list, including Real Estate Express.

BOTTOM LINE: It’s always nice to work with a reputable company that specializes in online education. Since Kaplan is the gold standard in exam prep, you should consider working with them for your prelicensing coursework.

Enroll Now

Best Real Estate School in California for Mobile: Aceable Agent

Aceable Agent Offers:

• Prelicensing Courses
• Exam Prep

California’s prelicense education requirements are some of the nation’s most comprehensive. With 135 hours of required hours before you can take your exam, having a convenient course format is critical.

Aceable Agent provides an easy-to-use PDF experience for all Californians who want to get their real estate license. If you’re looking for a real estate education option that will allow you to take your course when and where you want, Aceable is for you. Best of all, their students nationwide have a 94% licensure exam pass rate.

With Aceable Agent, you can skip the classroom and study entirely on your schedule and at your own pace. You’ll have access to instructors for questions or for extra help, and their package is highly usable on any device, including your cell phone, making it our favorite because you can squeeze in study time almost anywhere.

Aceable Agent Pricing

• Basic Package ($149): With this straightforward course, you’ll enjoy a completely self-paced learning experience with access to instructor support via email, and a 30-day money back guarantee.
• Deluxe Package ($225): You’ll get everything in the previous package, plus access to 75 videos, 70 audio lessons, digital flashcards, and exam prep materials.
• Premium Package ($370): Enjoy everything in the previous package, plus an hour of private tutoring with a real estate pro, live webinars 5x/week, and a livestreamed Q&A on “Facebook Fridays.”

(California prelicensing package prices as of April 2022)

FAVORITE FEATURE: Aceable’s PDF format allows you the flexibility of learning however you learn best. If you prefer, you can complete the course on your computer and jot down notes on your favorite note-taking app. Or, you can print the course and make a physical copy to read. The simple, online textbook format means you can go at your own pace and know exactly where you stand.

ROOM TO IMPROVE: Aceable Agent’s prelicensing package is a great, one-size-fits-all solution for aspiring California real estate professionals. They’ve recently added some package add-ons and exam prep materials, but their packages are a bit more limited than other real estate schools in California.

Still, there’s a lot of value in the package Aceable Agent provides, but it would be nice to have some additional bells and whistles. If you’re looking for a provider that offers more of an a la carte experience, try Real Estate Express.

BOTTOM LINE: If flexibility in how you consume your 135 hours of California prelicense time is important to you, consider Aceable Agent. For $149, you get everything you need to qualify for the licensing exam. Plus, you’ll enjoy the flexibility to prepare online or off.

Enroll Now

Best Real Estate School in California for a Budget: OnlineEd

OnlineEd offers:

• Prelicensing Courses
• Continuing Education Courses
• License Renewal Courses
• Broker Licensing Courses

OnlineEd is an online real estate school from Portland, Oregon, gaining a strong foothold in the education sphere for its affordable and reliable courses. They come in with the cheapest package option on our list and provide quality instruction. 

OnlineEd isn’t known for adding tons of extra features to your course package, but their more comprehensive packages still include exam prep. Plus, you’ll get an instructor assigned to you per class whom you can contact at any time for support.

OnlineEd Pricing

Students looking to get a California real estate license can complete the required 135-hour prelicensing course in three different packages with OnlineEd.

• Bronze Package ($99): Includes your coursework with helpful videos, and a course e-book in PDF and ePub format for an e-reader.
• Silver Package ($204): Includes everything in the previous package, plus practice tests to prepare you for the California real estate license exam.
• Gold Package ($264): You’ll enjoy everything from previous packages, plus a bound copy of the textbook to keep.

(California prelicensing package prices as of April 2022)

FAVORITE FEATURES: One of our favorite OnlineEd features is their free demo, where you can take their course for a spin before you buy. You’ll get access to all the same features you would in a package to see how you enjoy the platform.

ROOM TO IMPROVE: We understand that OnlineEd omits extra features to keep costs low, but we’d like to see an additional package option with added career resources.

BOTTOM LINE: OnlineEd’s simple packages lead you to an easy-to-use online platform that will guide you through your course while saving you money.

Enroll Now

Best Real Estate School in California for Continuing Education: The CE Shop

The CE Shop Offers:

• Prelicensing Courses
• Exam Prep
• Post-licensing Courses
• Continuing Education
• Managing Broker Prelicensing

The CE Shop has their work cut out for them. Part of their job is to keep California real estate agents informed of changes to the real estate laws and policies. That’s why they offer plenty of state-specific continuing education courses for those living in the Golden State.

For example, as a real estate agent in California, you must learn about Risk Management and how it pertains to the real estate industry in your state. Real estate agents can also take a course on California Fair Housing Laws, so you can make sure you stay in compliance. Now that recreational marijuana is legal in California, The CE Shop also offers a course called Marijuana in Real Estate.

The CE Shop’s courses tackle complicated topics. And since most classes are less than $20, you receive a lot of thought-provoking content for your money.

The CE Shop Pricing

The CE Shop offers four packages. Each one is divided into three sections (totaling 135 hours to meet the state’s requirements). These include a 45-hour principles course, a 45-hour practice course, and a 45-hour finance course.

They have a 94% student satisfaction rate and a 91% national pass rate for students sitting their licensure exams. The CE Shop’s prelicensing packages frequently go on sale. Check their website often for deals.

• Courses Only Package ($129): As the name suggests, this basic package just covers the three 45-hour courses described above.
• Standard Package ($199): This package includes everything in the previous one, plus Exam Edge Prep and a pass guarantee.
• Value Package ($249): This package includes everything in the previous one, plus Business-Building courses to kick-start your career.
• Premium Package ($279): Includes everything in the previous package, plus the 45-hour license renewal course you’ll need to complete to renew your California real estate license for the first time.

(California prelicensing package prices as of April 2022)

FAVORITE FEATURES: The CE Shop offers prelicensing courses in all 50 states. If you have a real estate license in two states, a CE Shop representative will help you pick classes that can work for both recertification programs.

The CE Shop had the busy real estate agent in mind when they created their continuing education courses. Their concierge service will notify you as your relicensing deadline approaches. The website also offers easy navigation, so you won’t waste time searching for a course that fulfills your requirements.

An important part of being a real estate agent is preparing comparative market analysis for your clients. Not following best practices may mean the difference between a sale and a fail. That’s why we like The CE Shop’s Preparing a Market Analysis class. This three-hour class is only $19, so it’s a good deal.

ROOM TO IMPROVE: The CE Shop offers a package for the 18 hours of continuing education, but you must purchase the balance of 27 hours of electives a la carte. Other continuing education companies allow you to purchase a package that includes all your relicensing coursework. Usually, these packages offer the greatest value. Buying a package deal helps busy agents save time with one-stop shopping.

If you are looking for a continuing education company that allows you to purchase a 45-hour license renewal package, check out AYPO Real Estate instead.

BOTTOM LINE: Fulfilling your continuing education requirements shouldn’t be a bore. Take interesting courses that are helpful to you as a California agent by signing up with The CE Shop.

Enroll Now

Best Real Estate School in California for No-fuss License Renewal: AYPO Real Estate

AYPO Offers:

• License Renewal Course

Don’t bother trying to sound out the name of our next company. AYPO is an acronym for At Your Pace Online. AYPO doesn’t offer prelicense coursework or test prep packages for the State of California.

However, AYPO provides inexpensive packages that let you bundle 45 hours of coursework required for your California license renewal. The course is super-straightforward, user-friendly, and easy to follow. It covers all the topics one would expect, including risk management, handling trust funds, consumer protection, and the Truth in Lending Act.

The courses are specific to the state of California, and the bundle includes the required ethics course as well. Once you have completed your coursework, you can print out your certificate to keep for your records.

AYPO Real Estate Pricing

While AYPO doesn’t offer prelicensing courses, they made our list because they offer an easy-to-use license renewal package. You may also be interested in AYPO’s 12-hour and 8-hour consumer services classes, which cover lending laws, sales agreements, and leases.

AYPO also offers six California-specific, three-hour courses for just $9 each, plus an 18-hour consumer protection course specific to California agents for only $36.

• 45-Hour Complete Renewal Package ($65): Covers all the required topics for your California real estate license renewal, including risk management, trust funds, sources of financing, land use controls, real estate investment, valuation and taxation, fair housing, ethics, fair housing, lending laws, real estate contracts, leadership, and more.

(California prelicensing package prices as of April 2022)

FAVORITE FEATURE: Our favorite feature of AYPO is that it is meant as a no-frills California license renewal option for busy real estate agents. The website is mobile-friendly, so you can knock out a few license renewal lessons as you are waiting for your client at a showing.

The online reviews of AYPO praise the easy navigation of the website and useful online content. One of the most highly rated courses on the AYPO website is their California Risk Management Continuing Education Course. This course talks about the legal responsibilities of risk management, as well as risk prevention.

ROOM TO IMPROVE: Yes, you will fulfill your license renewal requirements for the state of California by taking the coursework through AYPO. But, the classes appear to cover only the necessary information. Do not expect any highly interesting or innovative courses.

The writing and design of the AYPO website are also very simplistic. If you’re looking for more high-end, interactive instruction, you should check out Kaplan’s real estate education programs.

And at this time, At Your Pace Online only offers prelicensure coursework for budding real estate agents in five states. As such, if you plan on operating a multistate business, AYPO would likely be a comprehensive resource for your needs.

BOTTOM LINE: Whether you’re attracted to AYPO’s simplistic design or not, this company makes obtaining all your California continuing education requirements as easy as pie.

Enroll Now

FAQs About Real Estate Schools in California

Got some questions about getting your real estate license in California? Don’t worry. We’ve got answers to the most commonly asked questions about real estate schools in California, getting your license, how to choose a school, and more.

How long will it take to complete my prelicense requirements?

Do I have to pass the final exam of my prelicense course?

Can I use college credits toward my prelicense requirements?

Which real estate schools and courses in California are right for me?

We want you to hit the ground running in your new career in real estate! Did you have a great experience at other real estate schools in California that we didn’t cover? Let us know in the comments.

More Career Resources From The Close

Hopefully, this guide will help you pinpoint the best real estate schools in California to meet your needs. Looking for more resources? The Close has got you covered at every stage of your real estate career. You can begin with the comments section of this article for robust discussion about how to launch your real estate business after getting licensed.

Continue the conversation among Realtors nationwide in our Facebook Mastermind Group. Join The Close Pro to level up your skills and subscribe to our newsletter to get our latest articles direct to your inbox so you won’t miss important insights from the real estate pros here at The Close.

The post 6 Best Real Estate Schools in California for 2022 appeared first on The Close.

Our guide to the best Utah real estate schools will help you navigate the features that matter most to you, including affordability, quality of instruction, ease of use, exam prep, and more. We want to help you successfully launch a new career in our industry—so let’s dive in!

5 Best Utah Real Estate Schools for 2022

(Utah prelicensing package prices as of April 2022)

Utah Real Estate Schools – Helpful Info

Getting your Utah real estate license will take several steps, and your real estate education needs won’t stop there. To stay licensed, you’ll need to revisit your real estate schooling every two years. To help you choose the school that’s right for you, we’ve outlined the programs offered by each of the schools on our list. Let’s take a look.

Prelicensing

Exam Prep

Post-licensing

Continuing Education

We’re excited to help you choose a school that will set you on a path to success. Let’s jump into our top picks!

Best Overall Utah Real Estate School: The CE Shop

The CE Shop offers: 

• Prelicensing
• Exam prep
• Post-licensing
• Continuing education

We chose The CE Shop as our top pick because they’re pros in online education. Their self-paced course is interactive, which means that the material won’t be presented in text-only slides. You’ll also be quizzed periodically on the material to ensure that you understand it before moving on to the next section.

The CE Shop Pricing

The CE Shop offers four online prelicensing packages in Utah. Although they aren’t the cheapest school on our list, their prices often go on sale.

• Course Only $599: On top of your prelicensing course, enjoy digital flashcards and e-books by real estate professionals.
• Standard Package $659: You’ll get the course-only features, plus a Pass Guarantee and Exam Prep Edge, The CE Shop’s bundle to prepare you for your license exam.
• Value Package $699: In addition to all of the previous features, you’ll enjoy Building Business Courses for new agents.
• Premium Package $805: This top-tier package includes everything from the above packages, plus an 18-hour Post-licensing Course that you’ll need to renew your license after your first two years as an agent.

(Utah prelicensing package prices as of March 2022)

Readers of The Close can SAVE 30% on The CE Shop prelicensing course. Use promo code TheClose30 at checkout.

BEST FEATURE: We like The CE Shop’s interactive format. While some real estate schools present all the required information on text-heavy slides, The CE Shop varies how the information is presented. Throughout the program, you’ll do quick self-assessments by matching terms with their definitions or taking interactive quizzes.

ROOM TO IMPROVE: Even though The CE Shop does advise you on choosing a brokerage and finding your real estate niche, they won’t be able to introduce you to someone from an agency in your hometown who may be hiring.

If you’re looking for a company that has this more personal approach to education, you might check out the Harman Real Estate Academy.

BOTTOM LINE: The 120 hours of coursework will fly by when you purchase a package with The CE Shop.

Enroll Now

Best Utah Real Estate School for Exam Prep: Stringham Schools

Stringham Schools offers:

• Prelicensing
• Exam prep
• Post-licensing
• Continuing education
• Broker licensing

Stringham Schools is a local school that can assist you with Utah-specific real estate instruction, and their top-tier package offers helpful exam prep materials.

You can choose between two different presentation options: text-only slides and the HD video course. If you learn better from hearing the material instead of just reading it, the choice should be a no-brainer.

Stringham Schools Pricing

Stringham Schools offers three prelicensing packages in Utah.

• Sales Agent Prelicense Course $595: You’ll get access to your prelicense course live or in a self-paced format, a textbook, and access to Group Tutoring.
• Prelicense + Bundle $695: You’ll receive the features of the above package, plus the Exam Prep program and real estate legal reference handbook.
• Real Estate Agent Platinum Plus $830: Enjoy everything from the above package, as well as your 18-hour post-licensing course.

(Utah prelicensing package prices as of March 2022)

BEST FEATURE: As you go through the practice questions, Stringham Schools’ exam prep material will keep track of what kind of questions you miss.

The program will use that information to create a tailor-made study guide, which means the time you spend preparing for the exam will be used efficiently.

ROOM TO IMPROVE: Springham Schools’ packages are expensive. In fact, the course we recommend is almost $200 more than the lowest-priced package on our list. If you’re looking for a more affordable school, consider the Harman Real Estate Academy instead.

BOTTOM LINE: Consider Stringham Schools if quality exam prep that’ll help you ace the state exam is your biggest priority.

Enroll Now

Best Utah Real Estate School for Your Budget: Harman Real Estate Academy

Harman Real Estate Academy offers:

• Prelicensing

Harman Real Estate Academy has been educating new real estate agents in Utah since 1984. They made our list for their affordable package price, and the option to go back and forth between online and in-person classes.

Harman Real Estate Academy Pricing

Harman Real Estate Academy offers one affordable prelicensing course package.

• 120-hour Prelicensing Course $399: Choose from online or in-person classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights, access to practice exams and textbooks, and get access for one full year.

(Utah prelicensing package prices as of March 2022)

BEST FEATURE: By purchasing your prelicensing through Harman Real Estate Academy and using their included exam prep material, you can save up to $275 off the total cost of getting a license in Utah.

ROOM TO IMPROVE: While Harman does offer a very affordable online real estate prelicensing course for Utah students, you may prefer the interactive online format that the Stringham Schools course offers.

BOTTOM LINE: Save money on your real estate education by enrolling in Harman Real Estate Academy’s Utah salesperson course today.

Enroll Now

Best Utah Real Estate School for Instructor Support: Institute of Real Estate Education

Institute of Real Estate Education offers:

• Prelicensing
• Exam prep
• Post-licensing
• Continuing education
• Broker licensing

The Institute of Real Estate Education is the largest locally operated real estate school in Utah. With all the extras that they include in their packages, it’s little wonder why.

The school practices the reverse classroom educational philosophy. This means you’ll listen to the instructional material on your own time. When it’s time to practice what you’ve learned, you’ll have direct access to state-approved instructors who will help you with any concepts you’re struggling with.

Institute of Real Estate Education Pricing

The Institute of Real Estate Education offers three prelicensing packages, which often go on sale.

• Prelicense Core $445: You’ll receive the 120-hour prelicensing course, plus access to 30 practice exams with this package.
• Prelicense Pro $745: Besides receiving everything from the previous package, you’ll have access to a course review audiobook, exam prep with live instructions, license exam simulations, math review, and your post-licensing course.
• Prelicense Excel $2,495: This all-inclusive package contains everything in the previous package, plus three printed textbooks, access to 12 weeks of career coaching, as well as courses on negotiation, marketing, sales, and presentation.

BEST FEATURE: The staff of the Institute of Real Estate Education promises to answer your questions within an hour, and to connect you with area brokerages after you complete your licensing exam.

ROOM TO IMPROVE: Some of the students said the program takes longer than 120 hours to get through. If you’d like a more efficient online educational program, consider going with our top pick, The CE Shop.

BOTTOM LINE: You won’t be disappointed knowing the Institute of Real Estate Education offers a local expert available for support.

Enroll Now

Best Utah Real Estate School for Career Opportunities: Utah Real Estate School

Utah Real Estate School offers:

• Prelicensing
• Post-licensing
• Continuing education

Utah Real Estate School is located in Midvale, Utah. While you don’t have to live around Midvale to access the school’s online prelicensing course, you may want to attend one of their free monthly exam prep sessions that is offered on-site.

Utah Real Estate School Pricing

Utah Real Estate School offers a single prelicensing package option.

• 120-hour Agent Online Prelicensing Course $599: You’ll get six months’ access to your course, as well as a textbook, access to exam prep classes, and placement assistance with a brokerage.

BEST FEATURE: We appreciate that Utah Real Estate School offers free placement assistance for their students. You’ll feel better completing your course and exam if you know that you already have a job lined up for you when you’re licensed.

ROOM TO IMPROVE: Utah Real Estate School has a no-refund policy and students are only given six months to complete the course. If you want to review and learn the material at a more leisurely pace, consider enrolling in the Institute of Real Estate Education, where you’ll get a full year to complete the course.

BOTTOM LINE: If you appreciate the security of job placement help, try the Institute of Real Estate Education.

Enroll Now

Utah Real Estate Schools – FAQs

Have more questions about Utah real estate schools? Check out our answers to the most frequently asked questions below. If there’s something we missed, be sure to let us know in the comment section. We’d love to hear from you!

How do I get my real estate license in Utah?

How long does it take to finish online real estate school in Utah?

Can I get my Utah real estate license online?

What If I'm already licensed somewhere else?

How much does it cost to get a real estate license in Utah?

How much do real estate agents make in Utah?

More Career Resources From The Close

There’s a lot to consider when choosing a Utah real estate school. We hope our list of schools helps you choose the school that sets you up for success. We’re here to celebrate and support every step of your real estate career.

Continue the conversation with agents across the country by joining our Facebook Mastermind Group. Better yet, join The Close Pro to upgrade your skills, and don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest articles straight to your inbox.

The post 5 Best Utah Real Estate Schools for 2022 appeared first on The Close.

Here on The Reynolds Team, giving up is not an option. Our persistence and strategy led to more than $1 billion in sales in 2021 and we’re on track to hit our goal of closing a thousand buyers in 2022. Our agents use a 10-step search plan to find homes for their desperate buyers. I’m sharing our property search plan with you because I want each and every one of you to succeed.

1. Kick Off Team Meetings With an Internal ‘Wants & Needs’ List

Our first step to finding homes to show desperate buyers is to post to our internal “Wants and Needs” list. This is a private Facebook group for our team and brokerage where agents list what their buyers are looking for in a home. 

To cast as wide a net as possible, we also review our clients’ “wants and needs” at our weekly team meetings. This helps keep our buyers’ needs top of mind for listing agents. The minute a new listing comes in, our listing agents will already have showings lined up from the list.  

If we can match a new listing with a buyer from our “wants and needs” list, we call this a “Love Connection”! We don’t stop there, though. If a connection isn’t made through our brokerage and team, we reach out to other agents in our network.

  Pro Tip

If you want to learn more about The Reynolds Team, check out my interview with team leader Sarah Reynolds Oji on The Close Weekly Podcast.

2. Contact Top Listing Agents From Other Brokerages

This technique is great for buyers who have a home to sell or a low down payment. The secret is to get access to homes before there is a lot of competition for them through the MLS. 

To do this, we begin by looking up the top agents in the specific neighborhoods that our buyers wish to live in. We often don’t know who is selling the most homes in any given area, so we train our buyers’ agents to search the MLS for properties sold over the past six to 12 months. 

Then they sort the list by the listing agent’s name. This will consolidate the names and show who has sold multiple properties in the area. With this information in hand, they can contact the listing agents who have sold multiple properties in the area, and ask them if they have any upcoming listings that may fit our buyer’s criteria.

Agents who are neighborhood specialists typically have sellers who would sell their home if they got an offer they can’t refuse, as well as other homesellers who are preparing their home to sell it in the next few months. 

The goal is to make their seller client an unbeatable offer even before they’ve signed a listing agreement. This technique works wonders for buyers with contingencies and special circumstances. In fact, I have bought two houses this way myself!

3. Prospect OLD Expireds, Not New Expireds!

Our team’s next step is to search for expired listings and homes that have been withdrawn from the market. Even in today’s low inventory market, some listings don’t sell the first time around. 

Start by searching your MLS for expired homes over the past three years. Many older expired listings are from sellers who were not able to get the price they wanted. Prices have risen so much over the past year that the unrealistic price they were asking two years ago probably isn’t so unrealistic today!

If a listing has recently expired or has been withdrawn, contact the listing agent and ask them if they know if the property is coming back on the market.

For older expireds, go ahead and call them yourself. The good news is that homeowners of older expired listings aren’t receiving the 20 calls a day from desperate real estate agents that are typical for newly expired listings. Therefore, they are more likely to answer the phone and they are much more pleasant to talk to. 

BONUS TIP: Use Artificial Intelligence to Find Homeowners Who Are Getting Ready to Sell 

When you want to find homes for desperate buyers, human intelligence is great, but artificial intelligence is better. Why? That’s simple. Platforms like SmartZip use artificial intelligence to instantly sift through hundreds of data points on the internet and your MLS with one goal: to find homeowners who are getting ready to sell—before they contact their first agent. 

Even if you don’t find “the one” for your buyers with SmartZip, you can be the first agent to contact homeowners who are likely to sell in the next year. ZIP codes are limited and going fast, so if you want to unleash the power of artificial intelligence, check if your ZIP code is available here: 

Visit SmartZip

4. Write Backup Offers With a Backup Clause Written by an Attorney

In today’s market, you have to be proactive, creative, and BOLD to find your buyers a home. If your buyers love a neighborhood or home, don’t be afraid to write a backup offer on homes that are already pending. 

Bidding wars can drive the price so high that the winning buyer may feel they overpaid and subsequently get buyer’s remorse. Due to this, we are seeing a higher number of contracts terminate shortly after the contract is ratified than we have in the past. This is why we coach our buyers’ agents to encourage their clients to submit backup offers on hot properties. 

To protect our buyers and give them the ability to keep shopping, we have a strong backup clause, written by an attorney, that allows their client to terminate the contract prior to going into first position. This technique works well with homebuilders and fix and flips too!

5. Start Door Knocking With Your Rejected Offers (+ Script)

If you have been working with your buyer for more than a few weeks, chances are you have already made—and lost out on—at least a few offers. This can feel devastating to you and your client. Luckily, there’s a way to turn that rainy day into a glorious win—prospect around your recent offers!

After you dust yourself off and collect your thoughts, print out the offer your clients just made and start door knocking the neighborhood for other potential sellers who may be considering a move in the near future.

With your (redacted) offer in hand, go door-to-door and tell the neighbors that you have a motivated buyer who just made an offer and lost out on the home down the street. Let them know your buyer loves the style of homes and the neighborhood, and that they are set on living in the area.

Rejected Offers Door Knocking Script

When they answer the door, you will say:

copy to clipboard

Hello, my name is [Name] with [Company] and my client made an offer on the property down the street.

[Point in the direction of the home and hold up the previous offer.]

My client lost out on that home to a higher bidder, but they love this neighborhood and the style of homes here. Have you heard of any neighbors who may be thinking of moving in the near future?

[Pause for their answer, then ask:]

Are you considering selling while the market is HOT…HOT…HOT!

Do this and you will be surprised how well-received this approach will be. Many neighbors who love their community will want to help you find a home for your buyer client.

6. Trade Your Buyer’s Contingent Property With a Flip

One of the biggest challenges our buyers’ agents face is finding a home for a contingent buyer. These are buyers who have to sell a home before they can buy. This becomes even more challenging when the home they need to sell is in dire need of repair. 

This was exactly the case for one of my seller clients last fall. They had a home in a desirable area but it hadn’t been updated in more than 20 years. They wanted to find a home in the same area that offered more bedrooms and was already completely remodeled.

Since the homes in the area were built in the ’60s and ’70s, my strategy was to find them a recently flipped home. Using the seller’s home as bait, I contacted the fix and flippers in the area and asked them if they were looking for a new fix-and-flip project in the area. 

Hungry for inventory, several flippers expressed interest in my seller’s home. I told them that in order for them to be able to buy my client’s home, they had to sell my client another home that they had coming on the market. It took a little legwork, but in the end, we were able to negotiate the purchase of newly remodeled home with the caveat that the flipper would buy their home at a fair price. A true WIN-WIN!

7. Prospect FSBO Listings

The buyers’ agents on The Reynolds Team are expected to do the unthinkable … call FSBOs! If you have been selling real estate for more than a few months, you may have also found that these sellers are always reasonable, generous, and a pleasure to work with. 

OK, OK, so that may not be true all the time, but when you contact FSBOs, you will discover that most agents ignore them. They think these homeowners have no interest in listing their home with an agent. 

The truth is, they are happy to offer a commission to an agent who has a bona fide buyer for their home. That could be your buyer, but you’ll never know until you pick up the phone and start cold calling homeowners who have listed their own home for sale. 

8. Prospect Rental & Short-term Rental Ads

Calling the “Home for Rent” and Short-term Rental ads is a great way to find homes for your desperate buyers. Why? Because many investors may be interested in selling in this hot market. With interest rates rising and economic uncertainty everywhere, some investors might be looking to cash out at what they think is the top of the market. 

As a real estate investor myself, I would be interested in selling … if I didn’t have to go through the effort of getting a rented house ready for market. Getting a house “for sale ready” is different than getting a home “rent ready.” 

A “rent ready” home may have white semi-gloss paint, matching trim, and a neutral gray carpet. To get a home “for sale ready” requires nicer features like gray walls with a bright white trim and doors, and nice laminate flooring. Many landlords don’t want to take the chance on updating a property to make it “for sale ready” only to find they didn’t get the price they wanted.

What investors may not realize is that many buyers in this low inventory market are willing to pay nearly the same amount for properties that haven’t been updated as the recently renovated competition. This makes now an outstanding time for an investor to unload some inventory without having to invest the time and money to update their property.

On our team, buyers’ agents call the for rent, VRBO, and Airbnb advertisements to see if an investor is ready to sell. If that doesn’t work, it’s time to coach the buyer to reconsider some of the diamonds in the rough. Worst case scenario, you will have conversations with local rental property owners that might lead to future business. 

9. Coach Your Clients to Consider Aged Listings

If we haven’t found a home that matches our buyers’ needs at this stage, agents on our team still don’t give up. They then coach their clients to reconsider the aged listings (listings that have been for sale for longer than seven days). 

These homes may not be priced as well—or they may even be a little overpriced for the condition—but with a little coaxing, you may get the seller to come down a few dollars. 

Of course, your buyer may have to wait a few more years for the Instagram-perfect kitchen or yard, but they will be able to stop paying rent and start building equity—and that’s what’s important, isn’t it?

If you don’t have your hopeful buyer in a house after all this, it’s time to look in other areas.

10. Take Your Buyers on ‘Turf Tours’ of Other Neighborhoods

While I’m sure this idea has already crossed your mind, you may not have had much success getting a stubborn buyer to look into other areas. Well, I’d like to help you with that! Buyers tend to buy in locations with which they are most familiar. They might want to be close to work, schools, or shopping, or may be trying to invest in an up-and-coming trendy neighborhood.  

This can be difficult if the area they want is priced far above their budget. Some buyers will tell you they would rather rent than to consider moving outside their comfort zone. This can be a huge mistake since homeownership is what is going to help them build enough equity to afford to live in their desired neighborhood someday. 

If they say they want to live in a specific area because of the recreation and lifestyle, then consult them on how they can have a similar lifestyle in another location that is more affordable.

To get clients to consider new areas, our team conducts “Turf Tours.”  First, we ask them to take a ride with us. (Yes, in the same car!) We say, “I have an area I would like to show you. I just have one condition. You can’t ask me where it is until we have already seen the area and some homes.” 

Curious, they will usually agree. To be successful at this, you must remember that you are a consultant, not an order taker. The clients tell you what they want to achieve and why they want to achieve it. Your role is to serve as a consultant who guides them toward reaching their goals.

Bottom Line

This is our strategy for finding homes for buyers in today’s market. Our goal on The Reynolds Team is to serve over 1,000 buyers in 2022. To achieve this, we know we MUST leave no stone unturned when searching for homes. We hope you will do the same. Please share tactics that have worked for you and your team in the comments.

The post The 10-Step Plan My $1 Billion Team Uses to Find Homes for Desperate Buyers appeared first on The Close.

1. Buyer Love Letters Aren’t Working? Try a Love SONG

Brock & Lori Harris, Realtors, Los Angeles, CA

The Los Angeles real estate market is one of the busiest in the nation. “In some markets, it’s causing absolute chaos! No agent wants to have to sort through 50+ offers, but it’s happening often.

“We’ve routinely had buyers who’ve written on homes with 40 to 60 offers, and these have resulted in some pretty creative strategies to get their offers noticed. One musician client of ours wrote and recorded an original Buyer Love Song to accompany their offer, and guess what—it worked!”

2. This Duplex’s Value Jumped by 6x in a Single Month

Marina Vaamonde, CEO of HouseCashIn, Houston, TX

“A few months ago, someone bought a rundown, uninhabitable duplex just down the street from my house for $10,000. This property was practically a tear-down. A month later, there was a For Sale sign up in front of it. List price? $55,000. They didn’t do a single thing to it. I don’t even think they set foot in the place.”

“It eventually sold for $65,000; not bad for an investment held for about a month!”

3. Remember When Sellers Were Asked to Pay Closing Costs? Lol

Jimmy Hughes, Realtor, Oklahoma City, OK

“This market has completely flipped who pays for what when it comes to closing. Buyers are now paying for closing costs—it’s practically expected in offers! Prior to this year’s market, many lenders I’ve worked with literally didn’t even have a way to account for this in their systems because it happened so rarely.” 

4. An Offer So Good the Clients Decided NOT to Sell

Martin Orefice, Realtor, CEO, Rent To Own Labs

“Recently, clients of mine approached me with questions about selling their home—not uncommon with the astronomical prices we’re seeing right now. At every stage of the preparation process—running comps, getting an appraisal, evaluating competition—our best guess at the home’s value kept going up.”

“These clients were torn between the options of selling and trading up, or building an addition on their current home. Throughout the process I was never sure which way they were going to go. They eventually decided to go ahead and list the house, and the showings with offers started pouring in immediately. The offers were well above our sky-high asking price. As they were considering those offers, all of a sudden, they decided not to sell.”

“They took the offers they were getting to the bank, applied for a cash-out refinance, and completely transformed their very modest starter home into a dream house.” 

5. Showings Limited to 10 Minutes & a Line of Buyers Out the Door

Rob Kittle, Broker, Fort Collins, CO

“I can’t overstate how elevated the supply / demand in Colorado has been. It’s not uncommon for homes and property to be selling at unprecedented prices, often for all cash, often with no contingencies.”

“For really desirable properties (in a great location, with great schools, and with excellent community amenities), things are amplified. We recently listed a home where the demand was so strong that in order to give everyone who wanted to see the house a chance, we literally had buyers lined up outside, a time limit of 10 minutes per showing, and over 70 showings in a single weekend.”

6. Coming Soon = Under Contract Before the List Date

Cassie Alongi, Co-founder, We Buy Any House in California, Riverside County, CA

“In my local market (Riverside County, CA), we have the option of listing properties in our MLS as “coming soon” just before they actually hit the market. If these listings are in a highly sought-after price range ($350,000 to $600,000), it is practically a guarantee that you’ll get multiple, sight-unseen offers, many without inspection or appraisal contingencies, before showings are even allowed.”

7. Yes, Perfect Transactions Really Do Exist

Ryan Braswell, Broker, Bohemia, NY

“It seems like there’s nothing but stories of the outlandish and unbelievable from our market, and despite all of that, I still found a unicorn client. One showing, one offer, one contract, one inspection, one closing. No delays, no drama. The bank said our deal was so clean they didn’t even need an appraisal.”

8. Neighborhood Prowler? Nope, Just a Desperate Buyer

Lauren Reynolds, Realtor, Fairfield County, CT

“Last summer I was unlocking the front door of a house that was off-market to show a client, and a woman with a New York license plate stopped me asking if I was interested in selling my home. She thought I was the homeowner and she had been prowling the neighborhood looking for houses to buy that weren’t on the market yet. I think that shows you how competitive, and aggressive, some homebuyers have become!”

Your Turn

Got a wild story about your local real estate market! The Close wants to know! Tell us in the comments below.

The post 8 Stories That Illustrate Just How Ridiculous the Real Estate Market Has Been in 2022 appeared first on The Close.

A real estate career can give you more flexibility and autonomy, and it can be a lucrative career path. You’ll need to complete 75 hours of prelicensing classes, plus post-licensing and continuing education requirements once you’re licensed, so choosing the right school to take you through your new career is crucial. Check out our top picks below to get started!

4 Best Real Estate Schools in Pennsylvania

(Pennsylvania prelicensing package prices as of January 2021)

Real Estate Schools in Pennsylvania – Helpful Info

Today’s real estate boom makes it a great time to get into the industry in Pennsylvania, whether you’re looking to work in a major city like Philadelphia or Pittsburgh or sell property in rural Pennsylvania, where property sales are thriving.

To get your real estate license in Pennsylvania, you’ll first need to complete 75 hours of prelicensing courses. Real estate schools in Pennsylvania typically offer several types of real estate courses to meet the needs of agents and brokers at various stages of their career.

Prelicensing Courses

Exam Preparation Courses

Post-licensing Classes

Continuing Education Classes

Now that you’re familiar with the ongoing education required of real estate agents in Pennsylvania, you can probably see the importance of choosing the right real estate school and course packages at the outset of your new career. Check out our vetted list of the best real estate schools in Pennsylvania and learn why they’re our favorites.

Best Overall Real Estate School in Pennsylvania: The CE Shop

The CE Shop holds its reputation for quality instruction and affordable education options. It also boasts a high pass rate for the license exam (see their website for latest stats). But what sets The CE Shop apart is that you can take your prelicensing, post-licensing, continuing education, and upgrade to a broker license later—and you can do it all in one place.

The CE Shop Pricing

You have four prelicensing packages to choose from with The CE Shop.

• Courses-Only Package ($399): Perfect for the self-starter who’s only looking for the course without a ton of extra features, though this “courses-only” package includes e-books, digital flashcards, career resources, a real estate glossary, and a study schedule to keep you on track.
• Standard Package ($489): Includes everything in the previous package, plus The CE Shop’s “Exam Prep Edge” to help you get ready for the state licensure exam.
• Value Package ($529): Includes everything in the previous package, plus business building courses designed for new real estate agents.
• Premium Package ($589): This package includes everything in the previous one, plus your 14-hour post-licensing course bundled in, so you won’t have to worry about paying for it separately once you’re licensed.

(The CE Shop prelicensing package prices as of January 2021)

BEST FEATURE: We love a one-stop shop school. If you’re committing to a career in real estate in PA, you know you’ll be back to school for your post-licensing and continuing education. Including the post-licensing course in your prelicensing package gives you peace of mind for your first years as an agent.

ROOM TO IMPROVE: The CE Shop doesn’t go above and beyond with live instructor support. They do provide email support, but you also won’t find opportunities to ask questions to an instructor during your online classes.

BOTTOM LINE: If you don’t want to fuss with jumping between schools for all your Pennsylvania real estate education needs, The CE Shop has you covered from new to veteran real estate agents.

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Best Value Real Estate School in Pennsylvania: Real Estate Express

Real Estate Express has been providing affordable real estate education across the U.S. for 25 years. They were one of the early adopters of online learning, so their platform is easy to use. Real Estate Express shines for its affordability, and students don’t lose out on extra features.

Real Estate Express Pricing

Real Estate Express offers four prelicensing course packages for prospective real estate agents in Pennsylvania.

• The Basics ($349): An excellent option for a motivated self-starter, this package includes the 75-hour course with basic instructor support. It includes the 30 hours of fundamentals, 45 hours of practice courses, plus helpful e-books.
• Exam Preparation ($401): Upgrade your course with exam prep. This package includes everything in the previous one, plus exam prep materials to help you study, and a Pass or Don’t Pay Guarantee.
• Exam Preparation Plus ($469): This package includes everything in the previous package, plus live Q&A webinars with your class and an instructor, a real estate dictionary, and a live “exam crammer” series.
• Ultimate Learning Package ($549): You’ll get everything in the previous package, plus a printed course textbook and one year of professional development to help launch your career.

(Real Estate Express prelicensing package prices as of January 2021)

BEST FEATURE: With Real Estate Express, you won’t have to skimp on great features to save money. Their packages are affordable but still pack extra support. One of their best features has to be the Live Exam Crammer Series, which offers six one-hour live exam prep webinars. There’s nothing like being able to ask an instructor a question you’re stuck on in real time.

ROOM TO IMPROVE: Real Estate Express doesn’t have too much to complain about, except maybe their basic package doesn’t include any exam prep. On the other hand, some students are looking for a basic package without any bells or whistles.

BOTTOM LINE: Real Estate Express is great for students who are comfortable using online platforms and can get the most out of their extra features.

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Best Real Estate School in Pennsylvania for Exam Prep: Aceable Agent

If your number one priority is acing the Pennsylvania real estate license exam, Aceable Agent will make you feel confident about taking the exam. They boast a 94% pass rate on the PA real estate license exam and offer a variety of exam prep materials.

This school understands its students’ priorities. People want a real estate school that they can access quickly and get the job done. If you have concerns about exam-taking and are looking for an extra focus on exam prep, look no further than Aceable Agent.

Aceable Agent Pricing

Aceable Agent only offers three prelicensing packages in PA, and all include the 75-hour state-required prelicensing course.

• Basic Package ($288): This package includes your 75 hours of prelicensing class hours, lite exam prep, free online exam proctoring (for the course exam), and instructor support via email anytime you need it.
• Premium Package ($474): The premium package includes everything in the previous package, plus 75 instruction videos, 75 audio lessons, digital flashcards an an exam e-book to help you study.
• Deluxe Package ($660): This package includes everything in the previous one, plus extra support with live webinars five times a week, Q&As with instructors on Facebook Fridays, and one hour of private, one-on-one tutoring.

(Aceable Agent prelicensing package price as of January 2021)

BEST FEATURE: Aceable Agent is dedicated to preparing you for your license exam. Whether you need materials to study on your own or more interactive tutoring, they have an option for every level of preparation.

ROOM TO IMPROVE: Aceable Agent doesn’t offer post-licensing courses, so once you have your license, you’ll need to find another real estate school in Pennsylvania. They also aren’t the most affordable school on the list, though you’ll have to decide for yourself if your priority is exam prep.

BOTTOM LINE: Aceable Agent is for you if you’re looking for more confidence in taking exams and if you like more unique features like Q&As and tutoring.

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Best No-fuss Real Estate School in Pennsylvania: PDH Real Estate Academy

PDH Real Estate Academy offers the same reliable features as our other top schools, plus a little something different. Their courses are online and self-paced, with a simple online platform you can use on any mobile device or computer.

PDH Real Estate provides extra support by phone, so you can call and talk to someone if you’re stuck on any part of the material. Real estate professionals teach their courses, and they make sure to include practice questions and a simulated final exam.

PDH Real Estate Academy Pricing

PDH Real Estate Academy offers one comprehensive package for prospective prelicensing students in Pennsylvania.

• All-Inclusive Package ($360): Includes exam prep, lifetime access and career resources.

(PDH Real Estate Academy prelicensing package prices as of January 2021)

BEST FEATURE: The lifetime access to course materials. Typically, you’ll find that real estate schools give you a six- to 12-month period to complete your courses, after which you can no longer access the course. PDH Real Estate Academy’s lifetime access means you can re-watch any video lectures whenever you need.

ROOM TO IMPROVE: PDH Real Estate Academy only offers one package, so you won’t get much choice. On the other hand, this could be a pro for people who want to keep the process of choosing a school simple.

BOTTOM LINE: Choose PDH Real Estate Academy if you’re looking for an affordable package option with a decent amount of features.

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Real Estate Schools in Pennsylvania — FAQS

Got more questions? We have answers to your most frequently asked questions about a real estate career in Pennsylvania.

How long does it take to complete the PA prelicensing courses?

How do I take the exam at the end of my prelicensing course?

How long does it take to get a Pennsylvania real estate license?

Does Pennsylvania have post-licensing requirements?

More Career Resources From The Close

We wish you luck in choosing the right real estate school for you. When you’ve received your real estate license, come back for more advice to help you in real estate. At The Close, we’re committed to giving you actionable strategies so you can succeed in your career.

To get our latest articles straight to your inbox, you can subscribe to our newsletter. You can learn from other real estate agents across the country in our Facebook Mastermind Group.

The post 4 Best Real Estate Schools in Pennsylvania for 2022 appeared first on The Close.

To help you get started, we reviewed the top Alabama real estate schools and evaluated their quality of instruction, platform design, ease of use, cost, and more. It has never been easier to choose the right Alabama real estate school to fit your needs, timeline, and learning style. Let’s dive in!

4 Best Alabama Real Estate Schools for 2022

(Alabama prelicensing package prices as of January 2022)

Alabama Real Estate Schools—Helpful Info

To help you choose your Alabama real estate school, we’ve collected some helpful information for you to keep in mind. All of the schools on our list provide a variety of real estate programs, so we’ve broken them down to guide you. A career in real estate requires you to stay current and informed.

Alabama is also one of the few states that require you to complete a proctored prelicensing exam after you’ve finished your prelicensing course. This is not your Alabama state license exam. When you’ve completed your prelicensing coursework, you’ll sit for a prelicensing exam. Then, you’ll apply for the license exam with the Alabama Real Estate Commission.

Let’s take a look at the real estate programs offered by the Alabama real estate schools on our list.

Prelicensing Courses

Exam Preparation

Post-licensing

Continuing Education

Getting your license is only the start of your journey with real estate education. With our help, choosing the right real estate school for you will be a breeze. Here our top picks.

Best Overall Alabama Real Estate School: Real Estate Express

Real Estate Express offers: 

• Prelicensing
• Exam prep
• Post-licensing
• Continuing education

Real Estate Express has been successfully teaching real estate agents for 25 years nationwide. They were one of the first schools to introduce the online learning platform, so you know you’re in good hands navigating their online platform. They’re easy to use, innovative, and they offer the most variety in their package options so you can pick what’s important to you.

Real Estate Express Pricing

Let’s check out Real Estate Express’ four prelicensing packages.

• The Basics $319: If you’re a self-starter, this package is for you. You’ll get three real estate e-books and access to state-approved instructor support via email.
• Exam Preparation $389: In addition to the basics, this package includes dozens of practice exams and flashcards to help you study. They’re so confident you’ll pass your license exam the first time, they include a Pass or Don’t Pay Guarantee.
• Exam Preparation Plus $499: On top of the above features, this package includes Q&A sessions with an instructor,  a real estate dictionary, and their Live Exam Crammer Series webinars to study alongside others and an instructor.
• Ultimate Learning Package $579: This package includes everything above, and you’ll get a printed copy of the textbook and a one-year professional development membership with McKissock.

(Alabama prelicensing and interactive package prices as of January 2022)

BEST FEATURE: There is a lot we like about Real Estate Express. Their platform is easy to navigate when you’re tuning into lessons or looking for exam prep materials. We also love how much access students get to an instructor. You can email your state-approved instructor anytime, join the instructor Q&A sessions, or ask questions at the Live Crammer exam prep webinar series.

ROOM TO IMPROVE: It’s hard to find something wrong with Real Estate Express’ platform. The only downside is that you won’t be able to use Real Estate Express if you choose to get your broker license later on, since they don’t offer it.

BOTTOM LINE: You won’t be disappointed in the least with Real Estate Express’ user-friendly platform and customizable package options.

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Best Alabama Real Estate School for Career Resources: The CE Shop

The CE Shop offers: 

• Prelicensing
• Exam prep
• Post-licensing
• Continuing education

The CE Shop specializes in providing continuing education nationwide for real estate professionals. They’ve done so well at it that they’ve now long been offering prelicensing, post-licensing, and exam prep too. The CE Shop takes pride in its high student satisfaction rate, where 96% of students give their programs 5 out of 5 stars and would recommend it to others.

The CE Shop Pricing

The CE Shop offers four prelicensing packages with a variety of features. Take a look:

• Courses Only $315: A fully packed basic package, you’ll get a study schedule, flashcards, and career resources like e-books written by real estate professionals.
• Standard Package $379: In addition to the course, this includes Exam Prep Edge, The CE Shop’s exam prep bundle to cover everything you need to know for your license exam.
• Value Package $419: On top of everything above, this package includes Building Business Courses that provide advice and strategies for setting up your first years as a real estate agent.
• Premium Package $521: Along with everything in previous packages, this package includes your 30-hour post-licensing course.

BEST FEATURE: We really appreciate that The CE Shop provides its career resources in every package, even its basic option. Written by industry experts who have been through it themselves, you’ll get tips and tricks for avoiding pitfalls and gaining success in your first years as an agent.

ROOM TO IMPROVE: You won’t get access to live instructor support if you get stuck throughout The CE Shop’s prelicensing course. Plan to review the content and work at your own pace to make sure you grasp each concept before moving on.

BOTTOM LINE: Choose The CE Shop if you’re looking for advice for what comes after your real estate license and ways to hit the ground running.

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Best Alabama Real Estate School for Your Budget: PDH Real Estate Academy

PDH Real Estate Academy offers: 

• Prelicensing
• Exam prep

PDH Real Estate Academy’s offerings are short and sweet—they offer only prelicensing and exam prep in Alabama and specialize in offering real estate education on a budget. They make sure to offer many of the same features you come to expect with online learning, like self-paced classes, exam prep, and even a pass guarantee.

PDH Real Estate Academy Pricing

PDH Real Estate Academy has one prelicensing package in Alabama:

• Premium Prelicense with Exam Prep $221: This package includes access to instructor support, exam prep with hundreds of practice questions, e-books, and a few handy resources for the future like tips for home inspection, radon, and mold.

BEST FEATURE:  What have to say that PDH Real Estate Academy’s one prelicensing package knows how to pack in the features. They include several of the add-ons other schools’ premium packages offer.

ROOM TO IMPROVE: PDH Real Estate Academy prides itself on being budget-friendly against its competition, but its $221 price tag is still comparable to other schools’ basic packages. If you’re happy with the extra features you’re getting in PDH’s package, then you’re getting a deal.

BOTTOM LINE: PDH Real Estate Academy is great for anyone who doesn’t want to have to choose among various packages and features.

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Best Alabama Real Estate School for Livestream & In-person Classes: MY Real Estate School

MY Real Estate School offers: 

• Prelicensing
• Exam prep
• Post-licensing
• Continuing education
• Broker prelicensing

MY Real Estate School is located in Birmingham and is the oldest operating Alabama real estate school. They strive to provide top-tier instructions from real estate professionals who have worked in the industry in Alabama. They aim to make their courses as interesting and easy to understand as possible, so the content sticks with you for the rest of your career.

MY Real Estate School Pricing

MY Real Estate School offers two livestream course options and one online self-paced option for their prelicensing course.

• Evening Livestream Prelicense Course $349: With this package, you’ll have access to scheduled live webinars with an instructor to go through the prelicensing course.
• Daytime In-person Prelicense Course $349: In-person prelicensing classes are held in Vestavia and run Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Online Self-paced Prelicense Course $299: The self-paced course includes interactive tutorials and practice questions at the end of each section to review what you’ve learned.

(Alabama prelicensing package prices as of January 2022)

BEST FEATURE: MY Real Estate School is perfect for locals in Alabama who are looking for the accountability of a livestream or in-person prelicensing course. MY Real Estate School has been teaching in Alabama for decades and their strength is in their instruction.

ROOM TO IMPROVE: Unfortunately, in-person classes are only held in one location. And if you’re interested in exam prep, it won’t come included in any of their prelicensing classes. You’ll have to purchase their exam crammer series separately, and it’s only held in-person at the Vestavia location.

BOTTOM LINE: MY Real Estate School is for anyone looking for an alternative to self-paced online learning options and who prefer live interactions with an instructor.

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Alabama Real Estate Schools—FAQs

Got more questions? We’ve answered your most frequently asked questions so you have all you need to choose the Alabama real estate school that’s right for you. If we didn’t answer your question, let us know in the comments section below.

What do I need to be eligible to get my real estate license in Alabama?

How do I become a real estate agent in Alabama?

Which Alabama real estate school is best for me?

Can I get my Alabama real estate license online?

More Career Resources From The Close

Your exciting new career in real estate is just around the corner. We hope our list of top Alabama real estate schools makes your first step a little easier. Following a dip, Alabama’s real estate market is on the rise as the population increases along with demand for homes and commercial space. You’ll be jumping into a dynamic real estate market in cities like Birmingham and Huntsville.

At The Close, we want to help you at every stage of your career. Check out The Close Pro to take your skills to the next level. You can stay connected by subscribing to our newsletter or by joining our Facebook Mastermind Group to engage with other agents across the country.

The post 4 Best Alabama Real Estate Schools for 2022 appeared first on The Close.

Following your course of study, you’ll need to pass the state’s real estate exam and then apply for a Maryland real estate license. We want to help you choose the right Maryland real estate school to fit your lifestyle, schedule, and timeline — one that will not only help you pass the state’s licensure exam, but that will also kickstart your new career. Let’s get started!

4 Best Real Estate Schools in Maryland for 2022

(Maryland prelicensing package prices as of December 2021)

Real Estate Schools in Maryland – Helpful Info

Becoming a Maryland real estate agent isn’t significantly expensive or time-consuming. Still, you’ll need to choose an approved Maryland real estate school that offers high-quality instruction, exam preparation, and continuing education once you’re licensed. Here are the types of classes offered by real estate classes in Maryland:

Prelicensing Courses

Exam Preparation Courses

Continuing Education Courses

Now that you have a better understanding of what you’ll need over the years from the Maryland real estate schools of your choosing, let’s dive into our top 5 picks.

Best Overall Real Estate School in Maryland: Real Estate Express

People all over the country turn to Real Estate Express to receive a comprehensive real estate education with a flexible format. Their Maryland real estate classes are affordable, and nationwide, their classes receive rave reviews from students.

Real Estate Express offers prelicensing real estate education in 39 states, plus Washington, D.C. — making them a market leader in the education space. You’ll be able to ask state-approved instructors questions about course content by email or phone. Real Estate Express also offers exam prep materials in three of their four packages, as well as continuing education classes.

Real Estate Express Pricing

Let’s learn more about Real Estate Express‘ affordable packages. For less than $200, you’ll gain access to the materials necessary to make a career change.

• The Basics ($199): If you’ve got a real estate background or pride yourself on being a self-starter, you may only need to purchase Real Estate Express’ entry-level package. It includes 60 hours of classes plus two e-books.
• Exam Preparation ($249): You’ll have to study for the Maryland real estate exam before you take it. This Real Estate Express package includes exam prep materials and a Pass or Don’t Pay Guarantee.
• Exam Preparation Plus ($324): This package gives you access to live instructors for 40 hours per month. You’ll be able to ask clarifying questions about complex material from people in the business.
• Ultimate Learning ($424): The Ultimate Learning Package will give you a one-year membership to a professional development website. This membership will allow you to take non-credit courses to help you generate leads, write listings that pop, and improve your monthly commission check.

(Real Estate Express Maryland Prelicensing Packages Prices as of December 2021)

BEST FEATURE: Real Estate Express offers a lot of bang for your buck. Most of their packages include state-specific instructor support, access to real estate e-books, career resources, and test prep materials. Don’t forget to look for additional savings and promo codes to use at checkout to save even more money on these affordable packages.

ROOM TO IMPROVE: While Real Estate Express offers a fast-moving but thorough education, their top-tier package includes professional development courses as opposed to the state-required continuing education courses that are required to renew your license.

BOTTOM LINE: For fast-moving, affordable real estate education, choose Real Estate Express.

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Best Real Estate School in Maryland for All-in-One Packages: The CE Shop

You’re correct in assuming that the “CE” in The CE Shop’s name stands for “continuing education.” Still, this online Maryland real estate school also offers quality prelicensing courses for dozens of states, including Maryland. The CE Shop’s top-level prelicensing packages include everything you would need to get licensed and stay licensed.

We love The CE Shop’s expertly-designed materials and affordable options. The CE Shop boasts a higher-than-average success rate for both the national and state portions of the Maryland real estate exam. The curriculum offers interactive content that repeats material that’ll likely be on the exam, making even the most complicated information easy to digest and recall.

The CE Shop Pricing

The CE Shop offers four prelicensing packages for Maryland, ranging from $325 to $555. Even though the prices are already affordable, the packages often go on sale. Even the most basic package includes digital e-books, downloadable flashcards, career resources that’ll help you choose a brokerage, and a suggested study schedule.

• Courses Only ($325): This entry-level package includes the required 60 hours of prelicensing classes offered in a convenient, work-at-your-own-pace format.
• Standard Package ($385): If you’re looking for a prelicensing package that includes state and national exam prep, this is it. The Standard Package also includes a Pass Guarantee. If you don’t pass the state licensing exam after using the exam prep material included in this package, the school will reimburse you the cost of the test.
• Value Package ($425): The Value Package through The CE Shop includes everything in the Standard Package, plus access to business-building courses. You’ll learn what it takes to make money in real estate with these courses.
• Premium Package ($555): It only makes sense that a business called The CE Shop would include continuing education courses in at least one of their prelicensing packages. Their Premium Package consists of the 15 hours of continuing education classes you’ll need to renew your certification the first time.

(The CE Shop Maryland prelicensing package prices as of December 2021)

BEST FEATURE: The CE Shop provides all-in-one packages. If you wish, you could buy your prelicensing courses from one school, a test-prep package from another, business building training from a third company, and your continuing education classes from a fourth source. Or, you could buy the Premium Package from The CE Shop and get all you need to obtain and renew your real estate license in Maryland from one company.

You can switch careers and industries without having to shop around for additional training and resources—especially if you plan to keep your “day job.” When you purchase the top-tier package with The CE Shop, you only have to remember one login and password for all your real estate education needs.

ROOM TO IMPROVE: We’ve no doubt that The CE Shop can prepare you for the Maryland salesperson exam. Regardless, this online school doesn’t give students access to real estate professionals in the area who can offer valuable, real-world advice. Consider taking your prelicensing courses with Long & Foster Institute of Real Estate if picking the brains of local agents who have been successful in their career appeals to you.

BOTTOM LINE: We know that you’ll love The CE Shop’s interactive content. Visit their website to choose which package works best for you.

Best Real Estate School in Maryland for Instruction From Active Brokers: Tristar Academy

Both Real Estate Express and The CE Shop are experts in producing quality online educational content, and we recommend both of these real estate schools if you are seeking an at-your-own pace, online real estate school in Maryland. However, there’s something to be said about having a live, online instructor teach you about their profession.

Tristar Academy offers prelicensing real estate courses for Maryland that are livestreamed over Zoom. The 60-hour, 7-week course is scheduled in the evenings to help you complete it around your day job, and you can also access your classes (they’ll be recorded) later on to reference the material taught in them.

Tristar Academy Pricing

We’re impressed with Tristar Academy’s low price for prelicensing courses. Most real estate schools in Maryland that do offer a live (or live online) instruction are more expensive than schools that give you access to prepackaged material.

• Maryland Prelicensing for Real Estate for Salesperson ($305): This 7-week courses includes the cost of registration and the Zoom classes, plus a textbook and some exam prep material to help you study for the licensure exam.

(Tristar Academy Prelicensing Package Price as of December 2021)

BEST FEATURE: Tristar hires instructors who are active brokers. If you know that you would struggle to concentrate on sometimes dry material from a series of slides, PDF files or videos, enroll in Tristar Academy’s program. Not only will you be able to interact with a teacher and other students in your online classroom, but the instructor will be able to offer insights from their experiences as a current real estate broker.

ROOM TO IMPROVE: The state of Maryland requires that you take only 60 hours of prelicensing classes. If you worked at your own pace, you could easily get through the material in one or two weeks.

However, if you opt for  Tristar Academy as your real estate school in Maryland, the course is stretched out over eight weeks. If you are eager to jumpstart your new career, you might opt for Real Estate Express or The CE Shop instead and get started going through the material within minutes.

BOTTOM LINE: Don’t wait to enroll in the prelicensing courses offered by Tristar Academy. Since the school offers classes that begin on specific dates, you might have to wait for the beginning of the next session to get started.

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Best Real Estate School in Maryland for In-Person Instruction: Long & Foster Institute of Real Estate

We’re giving Long & Foster more of an honorable mention on our list. Long & Foster isn’t just a real estate school—it’s also a brokerage in Maryland. If you join the Long & Foster real estate team after earning your license, you may qualify to be reimbursed for the cost of their education program after closing your first sale.

Long & Foster Real Estate Pricing

Long & Foster Real Estate offers two affordable packages for livestreaming and in-person courses:

• Tuition Only ($125.66)
• Tuition and Books ($199)

(Long & Foster prelicensing package prices as of December 2021)

BEST FEATURE: They offer livestreaming and in-person courses throughout the day and on weekends. They also provide local real estate connections.

ROOM TO IMPROVE: Their website doesn’t inspire confidence, and it’s hard to navigate and find information.

BOTTOM LINE: Brokerages use training programs to recruit new agents, and if you show promise, you may be able to fast-track your way into your first job and learn about Long & Foster while you’re still studying to decide if they’re right for you.

ENROLL NOW

Real Estate Schools in Maryland – FAQs

While this article has probably helped you choose one of the top real estate schools in Maryland,  you have more steps to complete to get licensed. Here are some answers to our reader’s most common questions about real estate schools in Maryland, passing the state exam, and more.

What is the best real estate school in Maryland?

How much are real estate classes in Maryland?

How hard is the real estate exam in Maryland?

Are real estate classes worth it?

More Career Resources From The Close

The market is booming, and it’s a great time to launch a career in real estate. We’re happy to share our expertise and research on the best real estate schools in Maryland to help you choose one that’s right for you. Even if you’re not yet licensed, we invite you to join our Facebook Mastermind Group, where you can  network with real estate agents from across the country and pack their brains a bit.

Once licensed, subscribe to The Close Pro to take part in group learning boot camps and get exclusive video training and must-have downloads. And finally, subscribe to our newsletter so you don’t miss a single article from our team of real estate pros. Our resources will serve as a springboard to your new career in real estate, and we’re here to help at every stage of your career.

The post 4 Best Real Estate Schools in Maryland for 2022 appeared first on The Close.

Don’t worry! We’re here to help. We’ve curated a list of the best NC real estate schools to suit all your needs. Whether it’s online or in-person, we made sure to examine all the options so that you can make your choice with confidence.

4 Best Real Estate Schools in North Carolina for 2022

(North Carolina prelicensing package prices as of December 2021)

A Word About North Carolfina Real Estate Terminology

Every state uses its own real estate terminology, which can get a little confusing. We’ve down for you so you understand the various roles in North Carolina Real Estate.

In North Carolina, real estate agents or salespeople are referred to as Brokers

Where other states may use the term salesperson or agent, the state of North Carolina uses real estate broker. You won’t see information from the North Carolina Real Estate Commission (NCREC) regarding your license as an “agent” or “salesperson.” There are Provisional Brokers, Full Brokers, or Brokers-in-Charge in NC.

New real estate brokers start out as Provisional Brokers

When you get your real estate broker license in North Carolina, your license is under provisional status. It means that you work under the supervision of a broker-in-charge. To remove the provisional status, you need to complete a 90-hour post-licensing course. Once you’re done, you’ll get full broker status in NC.

Helpful Info to Know Before Enrolling in a NC Real Estate School

Your real estate career in North Carolina begins with a 75-hour prelicensing course. This is a requirement before you can apply for the North Carolina real estate exam.

All the schools on our list provide prelicensing packages with additional perks and options, but your real estate education doesn’t end there. Read on to learn what North Carolina Real Estate schools offer, and check out How to Get a North Carolina Real Estate License for more details on the process.

Prelicense Course

Exam Prep

Continuing Education

Now let’s review in detail our recommendations for the best North Carolina real estate schools for 2022 and beyond.

Best School for Extra Features: The CE Shop

The CE Shop is an excellent option for self-paced online real estate learning. Since 2005, the CE Shop has offered a variety of real estate education across all 50 states and D.C. They boast a high satisfaction rate from their students and provide post-licensing courses with their prelicense package.

Their packages include extra features such as free online proctoring for your prelicense exam and a pass guarantee. The CE Shop is so confident you’ll be prepared for your real estate license that if you fail the license exam, they will reimburse you for it.

The CE Shop Offers

• Prelicensing
• Exam prep
• Post-licensing
• Continuing education
• Professional development

The CE Shop Pricing

Prelicensing Packages: $536-$809
Exam prep: $45-$78
Continuing education: $49-$69 per individual course

The CE Shop has three packages for their prelicensing course for prospective North Carolina brokers.

• Standard ($536.25): This is a great one-stop shop course to get everything you need to learn, study, and pass the prelicense and license exams.
• Value ($566.25): This package is for prospective brokers who are looking for more information on building their career with business building courses.
• Premium ($809.25): If you’re thinking ahead, this package includes your 90 hours of post-licensing coursework.

Key Takeaways for The CE Shop

Best for: All online learners
Not for you if: You need more than six months to complete the course

The CE Shop is for you if you get excited by bonus features. If you’re interested in completing your real estate education online, but you’d still like some extra guidance, The CE Shop has what you need. Just keep in mind that you have six months from the start of your course to finish.

They understand that self-paced learning requires additional tools, so they include study guides and recommended study schedules. They also offer career resources and e-books written by real estate professionals, so you have more information for your career ahead.

Bottom line: Choose The CE Shop if you want to cover all your bases and get extra features to help you ace the license exam. With so many extra resources, they understand that everyone has a different learning style and offer options for everyone.

Enroll Now

Best Online-Livestream Hybrid: Kaplan

Kaplan and its parent company have been leading education for over 80 years in the U.S. They are serious about quality courses and learning resources. Kaplan’s highest praise goes to their instructors, real estate experts, and educators across the country with decades of experience.

Kaplan may not have the flashiest online layout, but they provide thorough instruction and additional support. They also have a high pass rate on their real estate exams (in Texas, it’s as high as 76%!), so you can rest assured you’re prepared.

Kaplan Offers

• Prelicensing
• Exam prep
• Post-licensing
• Continuing education
• Professional development

Kaplan Pricing

Prelicensing packages: $449-$749
Exam prep: $99-$149
Post-licensing packages: $165-$799
Continuing education: $69-$133 per individual course

Kaplan separates its packages into online self-paced and live online packages, and every package increases in price by $100.

• Online Broker Package ($449): This is an online self-paced option that includes exam prep and free virtual exam proctoring.
• Live Online Broker Package ($549): This package has scheduled livestream classes and includes a physical copy of the textbook.
• Online Broker Career Launcher Package ($649): This package adds career resources like business and marketing development plans and eight weeks of personal coaching.
• Live Online Broker Career Launcher Package ($749): This plan follows the above plan but you get scheduled livestream classes and it includes a copy of the textbook.

Key Takeaways for Kaplan

Best for: Online learners who want scheduled livestream classes
Not for you if: You like a modern online user experience or want an in-person class

If you’re looking to take your real estate education online, Kaplan is for you, but you still want a live instructor. Kaplan offers livestream prelicensing courses so that you get the accountability of a scheduled class. Plus, their packages include live exam prep and interactive study groups. Kaplan knows that people want the option between self-paced and scheduled online learning, so they offer both. Their pricing is comparable to the best schools online, and they also provide a ton of extra features.

Bottom line: Kaplan is for you if you’re looking for a reputable school and you don’t care if an online platform is flashy. Kaplan’s also for you if you think you’ll succeed more with a live instructor, but still want the comfort of learning from home.

Enroll Now

Best for Class Options: Superior School of Real Estate

Superior School of Real Estate has been providing real estate education since 2005. Their most significant advantage is the variety of classes they offer. They provide in-person, online self-paced, and virtual livestream classes. Since they were early adopters of the online learning model, their online setup is efficient and easy to use. Their content is well organized, and they offer a variety of instruction methods to meet your learning style.

Superior School of Real Estate Offers

• Prelicensing
• Post-licensing
• Continuing education

Superior Real Estate School Pricing

Prelicensing packages: $479
Post-licensing packages: $269 per individual class
Continuing education: $75 per individual course

Superior Real Estate School offers the prelicensing course in three formats: online, livestream, and in-person, all at the same price.

• Online ($479): This package includes your course in an online, self-paced format.
• Livestream ($479): This package has options for scheduled virtual classes during the week or evenings.
• In-person ($479): Classes are held in-person during weekdays and weeknights.

Key Takeaways for Superior Real Estate School

Best for: Learners who prefer an in-person or livestream instructor
Not for you if: You’re looking for bonus features in a package, like career e-books

Superior Real Estate School’s best feature is its flexible class options. Even though they offer so many options, they don’t skimp on quality. They offer many options for their virtual livestream courses, so you have the accountability of a scheduled class. You can choose from in-person and livestream classes that run once a week or several times a week in the evenings so that you can choose how quickly you’d like to complete the course.

Bottom line: If you are looking for extra features that address your real estate career, give Superior Real Estate School a try. On top of the class and study aids, you’ll get extra resources to keep for the rest of your career.

Enroll Now

Best for In-person Classes: Carolina School of Real Estate

Carolina School of Real Estate is the place to go for in-person classroom instruction. Their focus is simple: thorough instruction of content in an interactive classroom setting. That way, you get the opportunity to ask questions in the moment on topics you may need help with. Their instructors are experts with over 60 years of combined experience in real estate. You can take their courses at one of their three Winston-Salem locations or their Greensboro location.

Carolina School of Real Estate Offers

• Prelicensing
• Post-licensing
• Continuing education

Carolina Real Estate School Pricing

Prelicensing packages: $450
Post-licensing packages: $650 for all three required classes
Continuing education: $55 per individual course

Carolina Real Estate School usually only offers in-person courses, but currently also holds classes over Zoom.

• Online or In-person ($450): Either format course costs the same and includes scheduled classes and course materials sent to you.

Key Takeaways for Carolina Real Estate School

Best for: Learners who work best in a traditional classroom
Not for you if: You want more online features

Carolina Real Estate School is an excellent choice if online learning isn’t for you and you prefer a classroom setting. They understand that learning takes time and offer classes taught in person. Sign up if you are at your best with a scheduled class and instructors you can talk to. Typically, in-person courses cost more than online self-paced programs, but Carolina Real Estate stays competitive and affordable.

Bottom line: If you’re most comfortable in a classroom learning from an in-person instructor, Carolina Real Estate School is for you. You’ll get the benefit of being able to ask questions in real time with an instructor who can tailor the content to the feedback of the class.

Enroll Now

FAQs About Real Estate Schools in North Carolina

Now that you have all the details on our top picks of North Carolina Real Estate schools, you may still have questions. Check out the answers to our most asked questions.

Do I have to take the prelicensing course to get my real estate license in North Carolina?

How long does it take to get my North Carolina real estate license?

Does North Carolina have post-licensing requirements?

Can I get my North Carolina real estate license online?

More Career Resources From The Close

We hope you can choose your real estate school with more confidence after reading our top picks. We wish you the best in your real estate schooling in North Carolina. When you’ve started as a real estate broker, visit us for more tips and advice for your real estate career.

To get our latest articles straight to your inbox, you can subscribe to our newsletter. You can also learn from other real estate professionals across the country in our Facebook Mastermind Group.

The post 4 Best Real Estate Schools in North Carolina for 2022 appeared first on The Close.