Real Estate Express Has A New Look – FULL REVIEW
4.6
PROS
Customizable packages. Post-license training. Money-back guarantee. Frequent promotions. Hardcopy books available.
CONS
Limited support hours. No live or interactive pre-license courses. No mobile app.
Real Estate Express just came out with a new platform for their online real estate courses. It has a completely new look and feel. Some of the changes are good, while others are questionable. We will dive into a comprehensive review of the new Real Estate Express platform to see if it will be the best choice for you to get a real estate license.
For the purposes of this review, we will be focusing on their California program. However, if you are in a different state, the real estate program are all the same. It is just the material in the courses that will be different.
No matter which state you are from, Real Estate Express always gives you 4 packages to choose from to obtain your real estate license. There is a wide range of pricing options available (and frequent promotions), so you should be able to find something that fits within your budget.
The Basics package includes the online course that fulfills your state’s education requirements. The text-based course is just like reading a book, and you get 6 months of unlimited access to finish the course. If you have questions, this package only includes email support, so it may take up to 24 hours before you get a response back. With the 3 eBooks, you can download the entire course text in a PDF file for offline viewing as well as the two supplemental study materials, Math handbook and Quick Start guide, to give you additional tips.
If you have a small budget or already a lot of real estate experience, this package will work the best for you.
The Exam Preparation package is really the minimum package that most people should go with, because it includes test prep for the real estate exam that you are going to have to take at a designated testing center. You get access to over 1,000 online multiple-choice practice test questions just like what you see on the actual test. This is covered by their Pass or Don’t Pay Guarantee, which means that if you do not pass the real estate exam, they will give you 100% of your money back.
The Exam Preparation Plus package is the most popular and delivers the most value. You get a lot more comprehensive study materials for the real estate test. The Exam Cram Video includes over 11 hours of video content that walks you through the state exam from beginning to end. It makes you feel like you are watching this in a classroom. If you have questions, this package also includes live instructor support through the Instructor Q&A, where you can ask questions directly and get an immediate answer back. If your state requires post-license education, this package will also include that as well.
If you want the best chance for successfully getting licensed on your first try, your best bet is to go with the Ultimate Learning package. This is the most expensive option because it includes hardcopy books to accompany the online courses and provides extra training courses for you to take after you get licensed. The 90-day Bootcamp is a video course that is led by real estate coach Sheri Johnson. She will show you how to close your first real estate transaction in the first 90 days of getting licensed. The Professional Development gives you access to a database of supplemental resources, such as webinars, job-aids, discussion forum, partner discounts, and more.
Dashboard
When you log in to your Real Estate Express account, you are welcomed with a simple and clean interface. It is relatively easy to navigate through and find what you are looking for. You can access your account settings to change your password, view past receipts, and update your contact information in the profile section on the top right corner.
The courses that you are enrolled in show up on the front page. There is a navigation pane on the left side that allows you to quickly jump to your online courses, certificates for courses that you have already completed, or to get help searching for a broker under Career Support.
The only issue that I found with the dashboard was the order in which the courses were being displayed. The exam prep is listed at the top of the page and the course that you will actually be taking first shows up at the bottom. That means that every time you log in to your account, you will have to scroll all the way down to the bottom to get to your first course. There is a Sort function that is available, but it does not seem to be working or help with this.
You are given 6 months of unlimited access to complete any course that you have opened. This is important because most states require more than one course (and you can only take one course at a time), so your 6 months won’t start until you open each individual course. However, you will still have a maximum of 1 year to finish all of the pre-license courses in your package, even if you have not opened it.
Course Layout
The way the course is actually laid out is pretty standard for an online course. You get a page of text, and you just read through it like a book. There is a navigation pane on the left side which allows you to jump chapters. However, if you need to take a break and log out, it will save your spot. There is a also a progress tracker at the bottom, so you can see how much you have completed and how left you have to do.
Passing Requirements
Regardless of which state you are in, all of the online courses require that you pass the multiple-choice quizzes that are at the end of each chapter as well as a cumulative final exam at the end of the course.
You can attempt to pass the quizzes an unlimited number of times. However, you may be required to read the chapter again first. For the final exams, you are given 2 attempts before you have to pay a re-take fee.
Depending on your state, you may have to spend a certain amount of hours logged in online. Real Estate Express will track this for you automatically, and you can check your progress as you go. If your state does not require this, then you just need to pass the quizzes and final exam.
Some states will also require proctored final exams. A proctor is someone who will monitor you while you take the final exam. This is to ensure that it is you taking the exam and that there is no cheating going on. Real Estate Express provides online proctoring for some of their programs, where their proctor will watch you take the test via a webcam. You can also designate your own proctors. However, not anyone will qualify. They cannot live at the same residence or be related to you. You can check with your state to see their proctoring requirements.
After you fulfill the pre-licensing course requirements, all states will require you to take a real estate exam at a testing center. Real Estate Express provides several study tools to help you pass the exam successfully.
Exam Prep Master
This is what is included in the packages under “Exam Prep.” It is a compilation of over 1,000 multiple choice questions designed to simulate the actual exam. You answer each question one at a time. If you answer incorrectly, it will give you a brief explanation on the correct answer. There are a variety of different ways you can take these questions.
The most straight-forward way is to take the Progress Exams. Instead of having you answer all of the questions at once, they are broken down into ten manageable practice tests that consist of 45 questions each. To qualify for their Pass or Don’t Pay Guarantee, you will need to score an 80% or better on all of them. You have an unlimited number of attempts to pass.
After the Progress Exams, there are two national and three state final exams that will give you a breakdown summary of how you are doing by topic.
You can then create your own practice custom exams based on the topics of your choice. That way, you can focus on the areas where you need most improvement, since you won’t need to spend as much time studying on the topics you are already strong in.
Exam Cram Video (California only)
For the Exam Preparation Plus and Ultimate Learning packages, there is an additional video course that is included. This consists of over 11 hours of instruction that walks you through the seven main areas of the California real estate exam. This is a recorded video, so you can watch and re-watch it as needed.
Supplemental Materials
All of their programs come with complimentary flashcards that you can download.
If you prefer to read out of a physical book, you can only get them with the Ultimate Learning package.
State-Approved Instructor Support
All of their programs include email support with a certified real estate instructor. You can email them directly, or ask them right inside of the course. It may take 1 to 2 business days to get a response back. Support is available Monday through Friday from 8 am to 5 pm CST.
Instructor Q&A
If you want to be able to talk to the instructor directly, the top two packages Exam Preparation Plus and Ultimate Learning include live webinar support. There are typically three sessions available throughout the day from Monday through Friday. Some sessions have pre-determined course topics and others are open sessions where you can just ask any question. They publish a new webinar schedule each month and will email it to you.
After you get your real estate license, Real Estate Express provides additional training to help you launch your real estate career. Although you can purchase these tools directly as standalone products, you get the best deal if you sign up for the Ultimate Learning package.
90-day Boot Camp
Real Estate Express partnered with the dynamic real estate coach Sherri Johnson. She is a real estate agent with a deep passion for management and brokerage coaching and consulting. Sherri has a track record as a top-producing real estate agent, ranked in the top 25 out of 1,700 agents. She also has corporate management experience is as a regional and executive vice president.
Her 90-day Bootcamp program includes:
- 4-Part Series to Kick-Start Your Success! In addition to over 60 minutes of instructional videos directly from national real estate coach Sherri Johnson herself, you will be able to access her scripts, strategies and secrets for how to create immediate results.
- The 90-Day Bootcamp Strategy List! This is your guide to help you create listings and close more sales. Use this checklist to track your progress along the way.
- Expert Bootcamp Support! Talk to real estate experts at anytime for extra assistance in learning the strategies.
This has been designed to quickly help you gain the skills needed to generate new listings, buyers, sales, lead conversion, presentations, marketing, social media, and more. This exclusive product ensures you will produce income in your first 90 days and can help you exceed your goals your first year.
This can be purchased separately for $297.
Professional Development Membership
This is an annual membership program that gives you access to hundreds of video tutorials, job aids, blog posts, and more. It is basically a self-help respository of learning tools that will help you fill in those missing gaps of knowledge as you go. The first year comes included free with the Ulitmate Learning package.
It’s not hard to see why Real Estate Express is leading the way in real estate education. They are the only school to offer a complete career solution, offering courses not just to help you get licensed but also ongoing tools to help you take your career to the next level.
The biggest area where they could improve is by offering more variety in terms of course format to make the classes more engaging. Currently, all of their pre-licensing courses are only text-based, which can get boring at times. It would be nice if they offered live webinars or recorded video pre-license courses that are available with some of the other education providers.
Nonetheless, Real Estate Express offers more packages and options than any other real estate school, which gives you the flexibility to study as much or as little as you want. The courses have a modern look and the layout is easy to follow. Their money-back guarantee along with their frequent promotions make this hard to beat. I would not hesitate to recommend this to a family member or friend.
