Hey, I’m Mike! I’m a former student of Colibri Real Estate, so I thought I’d create this review to help out anyone who is thinking about signing up with them. I’ve included screenshots, my own personal opinions, what I like, and what I dislike about the course. I personally took this course for the state of California, but the course is very similar from state to state.
This review of Colibri Real Estate is updated as of January, 2023. I first signed up for Colibri Real Estate back in late 2016, but I just spent some time going through the course and it doesn’t look like anything has really changed since then.
If you just want the fast answer, yes, I recommend Colibri Real Estate and overall I had a good experience with them. If you want a much, much more detailed answer, I’ve got that for ya, too!
Get The Best Price On Colibri Real Estate Here
Why I Decided On Colibri Real Estate
By doing some research ahead of time, I already knew what I was getting myself into. Unfortunately, online real estate license schools aren’t really given glowing reviews, no matter what school you go with. This is due to the mundane course content, as well as a rather high student failure rate (average first attempt pass rate is around 65%-70% in most states). Instead of taking personal responsibility or just taking the exam again after doing some more studying, disgruntled students blame the schools. In reality, they aren’t really as bad as they appear, but it IS a tedious and mundane process to get through.
In any case, I finally decided on Colibri Real Estate mostly for the following reasons:
Availability In My State – The first thing I had to do is find online real estate license training programs that were certified in my home state of California. Be careful with this because not all of the online courses make it obvious if your state is approved or not. Make 100% sure their training meets your specific states requirements and is officially recognized. Colibri Real Estate is one of many that are approved in my home state, and they are approved in most of the United States.
Price – While I was entirely willing to invest in my future, I still wanted to make sure I wasn’t overpaying. Colibri Real Estate is very competitive with their pricing. They may not be the absolute cheapest around, but they are very competitive and not much more than even the cheapest courses.
Average Exam Pass Rate – This was the main statistic I looked at. In the end, nothing else really matters. As long as I pass, I can deal with the tedious studying. Colibri Real Estate has a 78% pass rate among its students, which is above average and among the most successful online real estate courses available. This was one of the most important factors for me and played a huge role in why I signed up.
Instructor Help – To be honest, I’ve never really been the best student. I made it through High School and even got a bachelors degree at a subpar college, but I’ve always been average at best and usually need to seek out additional help. Colibri Real Estate offers a personalized instructor that responds within’ 24 hours. I signed up for a package that gave me live Q&A sessions with instructors as well, which was WELL worth the additional cost. They also have instructors who monitor the student forums where questions can be asked and answered.
Supplemental Training – Another thing I liked about Colibri Real Estate was all their additional training that is included with the course. I’ll get into more details about this later in the review, but Real Estate Express goes above and beyond by providing tons of additional info that goes beyond the state requirements. This supplemental material was a huge help in passing the real estate license exam.
Multiple Device Capabilities – You would pretty much just assume that these real estate license training programs would be available on your tablet or smartphone, right? Well, here comes the outdated nature of these courses. Many of them don’t work well on mobile devices, or don’t even work at all! It’s 2023!! Come on, guys!! Colibri Real Estate does work on mobile devices. They don’t offer a dedicated app which would be nice, but it works well by just using your phones web browser.
Pass Guarantee – I wanted them to guarantee me that I will pass my real estate license exam. If they have the best course, they should be willing to stand by their product. Colibri Real Estate offers this guarantee on all of their plans except for the cheapest one.
Some of the other courses I checked out included Kaplan and Career Web School. I wasn’t a huge fan of Career Web School but I was very close to signing up with Kaplan. I ended up going with Colibri Real Estate over Kaplan almost exclusively due to the better pass rate at Colibri Real Estate.
The Dirty Little Secret About Online Real Estate License Training Programs
Before I get into my actual review of Colibri Real Estate, I feel the need to blow the whistle on a dirty little secret with these online real estate schools. That dirty little secret is quality. Nearly all of the current online real estate license training programs are pretty low quality.
The biggest issue is how outdated the courses have become. Most online real estate license courses do not work well on mobile devices, they are full of plain text, have outdated information which actually causes students to miss questions on the real exam, and there are minor glitches like broken links to resources and buttons that don’t work.
If the incorrect information wasn’t bad enough, the material is also delivered in a very unforgiving and tedious format. Let’s face it, learning about real estate laws, rules, taxes, finances, and regulations aren’t exactly exciting topics to study. Unfortunately, most online real estate courses consist of walls of text, followed by a quiz. Rinse and repeat for 135 hours. Ugh.
In today’s world, you would think these courses would include some videos, graphics, animations, or something to help us retain the information better. Instead, they basically throw a textbook at you and say “good luck!”
Now, some of us, myself included, actually prefer courses that are more text-based. I don’t want to sit through hundreds of hours of videos. However, I feel people need to be prepared that the vast majority of online real estate courses out there don’t have flashy videos, animations, etc. Colibri Real Estate is no exception. It is almost entirely a text-based program, so be prepared for that going in.
Colibri Real Estate Pricing Packages In 2023
This information will likely change over time, but Colibri Real Estate offers pretty straightforward pricing. Just check out their pricing page for current info as well as what each package includes. My example will be for the state of California, so if you’re in another state, choose your state here to get updated pricing info.
The pricing starts at $384.30 for Texas, or $90.30 for California, but these prices do change frequently. Colibri Real Estate is also one of the only schools to offer tuition assistance with installment payment plans, so if you’re on a budget, this could be a great option.
Which Colibri Real Estate package is best? While any of the plans will enable you to complete your training requirements, I suggest the “Exam Preparation Plus” plan as this will give you access to 40 hours of live Q&A sessions with expert instructors. Studying for your real estate license exam will not be easy and chances are you’ll need some help along the way. Personally, I went with the “Ultimate Learning” plan because I also wanted the textbook versions of the course. Call me old fashioned, but sometimes I like studying from a good ol’ book where I can highlight and write notes. In the end, it’s really up to you as they will all get the job done.
Video Overview For The Basics Plan (Base Plan)
Video Overview For The Exam Prep Plus Plan
Video Overview For The Exam Preparation Plan
Video Overview For The Ultimate Learning Plan
The Colibri Real Estate Signup Process
The signup process for Colibri Real Estate is super easy and takes maybe 2 minutes. There aren’t any forms to be mailed, papers to sign, or anything like that. Just put in your basic info, agree to their terms and conditions, hand over your money, and you’re done. I almost expected some bureaucratic process with forms and contracts, but it was pretty simple. They only accept credit cards so if you like using PayPal or Apple Pay you’ll be out of luck.
The day after I signed up, I got an email from my assigned instructor introducing himself. He gave me the low down on what he’s there for, how I can reach him, when I could expect him to respond after I send an email, etc. I was also able to log in and start taking the course immediately. Here is the actual email I received from my instructor (redacted contact info):
What Is The Course Content At Colibri Real Estate Like?
If you’ve read this entire Colibri Real Estate review so far, none of this should come as a surprise and it’s about what you would expect. This really is a “no frills” type of course. There’s only one place to start and that’s “chapter 1” as you might guess. The rest of the course is blocked off until you finish the preceding sections.
The content is delivered in blocks of text on short pages. A timer keeps track of your time spent and if you are idle for too long, it will ask you for some input so the system knows you are still there. At the end of each section, there is a 10 question quiz and you need to get 8 out of those 10 correct. So far, the quiz questions have been reasonable and have been related to the preceding material.
Much of the course is memorization and much of that memorization includes certain terms, statutes, laws, regulations, etc. Due to this, a large portion of the course is simply rules and regulations directly from governing agencies. Did I mention the course was boring and dry? Well, nobody said it would be fun and I expected the challenge.
Instead of just showing you screenshots of the course, check out the video below. I did not make the below video, but I found it on YouTube and it gives a great inside look of what the course looks like on the inside. He gets inside the course at about the 2min mark
Video: Inside Look At Colibri Real Estate
The Live Instructor Q&A Is Great But Has Some Problems
One of the advantages of Colibri Real Estate is the ability to attend weekly live training sessions. I personally found these live training sessions to be worth every penny (you have to sign up with a higher package to get access to this). However, it does have some issues.
First of all, they are held at the same times of the day on the same days every week. If it doesn’t work with your schedule, you’re pretty much out of luck. There are no recorded versions of these live sessions and you can’t access them later. This seems so silly to me! These live training sessions are also more like Q&A sessions with students than anything else. The instructor doesn’t really teach, they just answer questions that students have. So I recommend you go to the Q&A sessions with a list of questions ready to go.
VIDEO: Additional Info About Instructor Q&A At Colibri Real Estate
The Student Forum Is A Helpful Resource But It’s A Bit Quiet
I’ve been enrolled in online training programs before that included student forums where students and even staff could ask questions, get help, as well as help others. Unfortunately, the student forum at Colibri Real Estate has some cobwebs growing. The good news is that questions generally get answered quickly by instructors who monitor the forums. The bad news is there isn’t much in the way of student interaction going on. It’s not terrible, but I wouldn’t say it’s one of the best features of Colibri Real Estate.
You can see in the screenshot below, nobody is really even asking questions. They’re mostly looking for study buddies, which is another good use of the forum.
Supplemental Learning Material At Colibri Real Estate
One thing I really like about Colibri Real Estate is the amount of additional learning material they provide at no additional cost. For example, I’m absolutely terrible at math. So their Fearless Math guide really helped me out in that area.
They offer a couple other e-books as well…
And here are even MORE resources offered by Colibri Real Estate…
Who Is Colibri Real Estate Best For?
Let me be very clear about this – Colibri Real Estate is for those who are able to learn independently. Yes, you have access to an instructor, but I would not plan on relying on that person to help you pass. If you have a question here and there, sure, but they will not hold your hand. There is very little external support and the information is delivered in a very dry format. This is not limited to Real Estate Express. Unfortunately, this is the “industry standard” for online real estate license training. For me personally, this was still a better option than attending a classroom. I got into real estate as a second career and I was already limited on time. Attending a physical classroom was out of the question. If you’re in the same boat, that’s ok, just know what you’re getting into by taking ANY online real estate school.
Some Final Thoughts About Colibri Real Estate
In spite of this Colibri Real Estate review coming off as a bit negative, I’m actually glad I signed up with them. A classroom would be a nightmare for me and while I think there are some improvements that Colibri Real Estate could make, I don’ think the issues I’ve come across are exclusive to Colibri Real Estate. This is just how the industry is right now. Hopefully soon a new player will come along and shake up the industry. I recently wrote a review on the AceableAgent program that is now available in some states, which takes a much more modern approach, but their reach is rather limited.
I didn’t go into this expecting it to be a fun and exciting time. I was right. It’s not fun and exciting, but it’s something that needs to be done. While I would like to see Colibri Real Estate and other online real estate license training programs provide higher quality learning through the use of today’s technology, I also understand that what I’m learning will get the job done, complete my requirements, and get me that license. As someone who is going through Colibri Real Estate right now, I can safely say that I do recommend them based on my research into several other courses. This is about as good as it gets.