Thinking about becoming a real estate agent in Michigan? While there are still plenty of classroom-based real estate license courses you can sign up for, online Michigan real estate classes have become the most popular way for prospective real estate agents to study for and obtain their license. It’s easy to understand why. I myself signed up for an online real estate training course (here’s the course I used) as I already had a full-time job and the last thing I wanted to do after a long day of working was sit in a stuffy classroom while getting lectured at about real estate laws.
Chances are, you’re in the same situation that I was. You want to obtain your Michigan real estate license, but you’re either already working a full-time job or you simply don’t have the time to attend a physical location at a set time and place. It’s a major inconvenience, I know.
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This Is My Top Recommended Online Michigan Real Estate Class
Fortunately, there are several online Michigan real estate classes that you can pick from. In this article, I will go over my top 5 picks, review them, and explain why I think they are the best. Further down on this page, I will also give you a full list of all online Michigan real estate classes approved in the state.
But first, there’s something that you need to understand about the online real estate training industry. So before I get into my specific recommendations, I’d like to warn you about something you should know before you sign up for any online real estate course in Michigan.
Beware Of Outdated Online Michigan Real Estate Classes
Before you sign up for any real estate course in Michigan, you need to know a dark secret that these real estate classes don’t want you to know about. The cold hard truth is that many online Michigan real estate classes have become extremely outdated. Even though they are state-certified, the course content is out of date, which leads to incorrect answers during the real estate license exam, and people will actually fail their exam because of it.
How did this happen? How is that even possible?!
Well, online Michigan real estate classes have actually been around for a while now. A couple of decades ago when the state of Michigan first approved online education for real estate professionals, all of the major real estate training programs launched at the same time.
Now, over time, these courses have deteriorated. For starters, smartphones didn’t even exist when these real estate classes were first launched online. Sure, they’ve come out with “mobile-friendly versions” of their courses and claim you can take the course from any device, but does it really work that well? In most cases, no.
And it’s not just the user interface that is outdated. As I mentioned, the information itself has become outdated. While these online real estate training courses in Michigan are required to update the course material as things change, the fact is, a lot of changes have been overlooked over the past 20 years. Most of these online real estate training programs need to be completely rebuilt from the ground up instead of just continuing to patch the courses and use bandaid solutions.
So, be extra cautious before you sign up for one of these online real estate license training programs in Michigan. There are a ton of very low-quality courses out there, so continue to do what you’re doing right now and research these schools as much as possible.
Reviews For The Top 5 Best Online Michigan Real Estate Classes
The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs is the entity responsible for approving online Michigan real estate classes and ensures they remain in compliance. Unfortunately, their website is pretty much useless and doesn’t provide much in the way of recommendations or even giving a general list of approved classes. This is the best list I was able to find. As you can see, there are more than a dozen online real estate classes approved in Michigan. While I can’t review them all, I can at least help point you in the right direction by recommending these top 5 courses.
1. AceableAgent
AceableAgent is the most recent online real estate course to be approved in Michigan. This company is only a few years old and was just approved in Michigan in 2019. However, this is arguably the best online real estate license class you can sign up for. This entire course was built from the ground up, making it the most modern and updated real estate license course in Michigan.
For example, while most other online real estate schools in Michigan are “mobile-friendly”, AceableAgent is the only course that has a downloadable app for Apple and Android devices. There just isn’t a better online real estate school that works better on smartphones or tablets. So, if you plan on taking part or all of the course from a mobile device, AceableAgent is quite clearly the best option to go with.
There’s so much more going for AceableAgent though. The actual course content is obviously very important, and AceableAgent has a phenomenal way of delivering the course material. They break things up by using text, videos, animations, graphics, and interactive features to help you retain the most important information. The virtual classrooms and assigned instructors are also higher than average quality.
The most important measurement of any online real estate school is its average student pass rate. While Michigan does not provide that information to the public, other states that AceableAgent is approved in do keep track of that info and make it publically available. AceableAgent is the #1 course in Texas, for example, due to having the highest student pass rate of any online course in the state. This is why AceableAgent is listed as the top choice here. The video below contains actual content from the AceableAgent course.
VIDEO: Actual Course Content From AceableAgent
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2. Colibri Real Estate
Colibri Real Estate is actually the company I personally went through to study for my real estate license exam, so this is the course I am most familiar with. I was very happy with their coursework, and while I felt it was a little out of date, I think it is much better than most other online Michigan real estate classes out there. In addition to going through their online program, I also elected to receive the textbooks as well since I like to highlight and take notes in physical books as I go along. While that’s not necessary, I found it to be helpful.
In the end, the reason I signed up with them was due to their very high student pass rate. I don’t know their exact student pass rate in Michigan, but in other states, they boast some of the highest student pass rates in the industry.
Colibri Real Estate is very heavily text-based. While there are some videos mixed in here and there, the vast majority of this course is simple text. So, if you don’t want to deal with a bunch of videos, animations, and interactive features, this is a bit more of a traditional approach that you might prefer.
As with any other higher quality course, Colibri Real Estate issues you a personal instructor who can be reached via email with about a 24hr response time. You can also get help in the student forums which are monitored by instructors. In fact, a lot of students find “study buddies” in the forum. And finally, they have live Q&A virtual classrooms where you can ask questions and get answers in real time.
Overall I was pleased with Colibri Real Estate and recommend it to friends and family who are interested in getting into real estate. You can check out my more detailed review of Colibri Real Estate here, as well as watch the video review below.
VIDEO: Demo & Review Of Colibri Real Estate
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3. RealEstateU
When it comes to affordability, RealEstateU is an online school that comes to mind.
While their classes are not offered in many states, they do serve the state of Michigan. So any aspiring real estate agents living in the area can take advantage of the affordable rates and excellent course content.
Not only are the courses fully online, but you can access all of your lessons on any smart device. This means you can take your lessons on your PC, your laptop, your tablet, and your phone.
They have a 30-day refund policy. The perfect amount of time for students to see how they “feel” about the course itself.
If you don’t like how RealEstateU delivers its course content, that’s fine! As long as you still meet the terms and conditions, you can get a full refund with no questions asked.
One downside that might turn away a few students is the textbooks. Unfortunately, these are not included in the course.
You will have to set aside about $20 or more to get a copy of your real estate textbooks.
But just know that you can still keep up with your studies without them. You can still satisfy the pre-licensing requirements through RealEstateU’s audio lessons.
What’s more, RealEstateU is perfect if you’re an auditory learner.
Interested in knowing more about what they can do for you? Just hop on their website!
Check Out the Offers at RealEstateU Here
4. Brightwood Real Estate Education by Kaplan
Another very well known real estate training class in Michigan is Brightwood Real Estate Education by Kaplan. I almost signed up for them myself since they also have a great student pass rate. What sets Brightwood apart from Colibri Real Estate is they have a bit more of a personal approach with more readily available access to instructors and other students in their “virtual classroom.” You can even utilize one of Kaplan’s many physical locations if you want to have a more hybrid type of experience with both online and classroom-based training, but you’ll need to call them specifically to see if this is available in your local area.
You can also apply for tuition assistance and get on a payment plan if you don’t have the funds to pay for the entire course upfront, which is very unique to Brightwood. While they are a bit more expensive than some other online Michigan real estate classes, they also have some value-adds that could make the price worth it. For example, Kaplan is known for having the best and most experienced instructors.
Another often overlooked aspect of Kaplan is their supplemental training tools. If you go with one of their higher packages, you get access to study guides that go way above the bare minimum requirements. I especially like the 2-day intensive course which is basically a cram session that prepares you for the actual Michigan real estate license exam.
One thing I don’t really like about Kaplan is the way the course functions on Smartphones. While the course is mobile-friendly, I felt the experience left a bit to be desired. This course would be best for those who plan on taking all or the vast majority from a PC or laptop.
VIDEO: Brightwood Real Estate Education By Kaplan Review & Demo
Get The Lowest Price On Brightwood Real Estate Education by Kaplan Here
5. The CE Shop
The CE Shop is one of the most well-known online education companies for professionals. They are involved with many more industries besides just real estate, but they’ve been providing online real estate training in Michigan for many years. This is another very mobile-friendly course, so if you want to take some or all of the course from a smartphone or tablet, The CE Shop will be a great option for you.
I really like the way The CE Shop delivers the course content. While there is a lot of text involved, they also provide some great videos and other ways of delivering the content which really helps to keep things less boring. They did a good job of helping students retain the most important information.
While we can talk about course features, what really matters most is how many students end up getting their real estate license on the very first try. The CE Shop boasts a whopping 90% student pass rate, meaning that 90% of their graduating students pass the real estate license exam on their very first try. This is significantly better than the industry average and really says a lot about the quality of the course content at The CE Shop.
I also think they have one of the best exam prep programs where you can take an unlimited number of practice tests. Other supplemental training features such as their math handbook comes in very handy. I am terrible with math, so having that handbook available to help with the more difficult mathematics is a huge help.
The CE Shop allows you to sign up for their course without any risk. If you start the course and don’t like it, you can get a full refund as long as it has been less than 30 days and you’ve gone through less than 50% of the course. The CE Shop is a great option to go within Michigan.
VIDEO: The CE Shop Course Demo
Get The Best Price On The CE Shop Here
Full List Of All Online Real Estate Courses Approved In Michigan
While I highly recommend you stick with one of the 5 best online real estate classes I reviewed above, it’s always good to know ALL of your options. Listed below are all of the online Michigan real estate classes that are approved in the state.
- Northwestern Michigan College
- OnCourse Learning
- Real Estate Leadership Academy
- Real Estate Sales Academy
- Real Estate Training For U
- RealEstateU
- The CE Shop
- Brightwood Career Institute (Kaplan)
- 1 Attempt
- Colibri Real Estate
- AceableAgent
- Career Academy Of Real Estate
- Real Estate Training Institute
- Detroit Training Center
- Great Lakes Realty Systems
- Holloway Institute
- Hondros College of Business
- Institute Of Michigan Real Estate Careers
- Michigan Institute Of Real Estate
Some Final Thoughts
While the top 5 best online Michigan real estate license classes are my top picks, don’t take my word for it. Make sure you read reviews from multiple sources. Just keep in mind that reviews are easily manipulated, and they are. Sometimes negative reviews are written by competing companies and positive reviews are faked in order for them to look better. This happens in every industry and the online real estate training industry is no different. As you read lots of reviews from lots of different sources, you can then start to pick up on common trends and separate the real reviews from the fake ones.
Best of luck to you as you begin your new career in real estate!
