Part of your responsibilities as a real estate agent in South Carolina is to keep your license current.
It is not necessarily fun because continuing education will require some time and, of course, money.
Another problem is having to choose which school to entrust your time and hard-earned money with. Let’s face it – there are some real estate schools out there that aren’t legit and just end up wasting your resources.
So how do you choose which ones are reliable and which ones will be worth your time?
To help you out, I’ve rounded up a list of schools with the best online real estate continuing education in South Carolina.
5 Best Online Real Estate Courses For Continuing Education in South Carolina
Here are the top five picks that we can recommend as the best online real estate courses for continuing education in South Carolina:
I’ll give you a review of each one.
So let’s get right to it.
McKissock
McKissock is a top real estate school for many reasons. It’s trustworthy, widely available, and most importantly, its course materials are effective and constantly updated.
McKissock has been in the business for two decades and is one of the major players in the market. It is a trusted online real estate school that belongs to the Colibri Group, a family of e-learning brands that provide online tools for professional development.
McKissock’s CE course fees are reasonable. You can purchase individual courses from around $20. Renewal packages, on the other hand, cost from around $90 to $120.
McKissock’s CE courses are simple and easy to navigate. You just click through the slides as you go along each chapter. This will easily benefit people who struggle with technology.
Now, the courses are primarily text-based, and the content tends to be somewhat dry. You will need to do a lot of reading.
The lessons may be a little eye-straining, but the good news is, they will give you all the essential information you need.
You can also rely on the course to give you relevant industry trends and the most up-to-date real estate topics. The program will enable you to apply the skills you learned to your real estate career. What’s more, it will help you advance in your career by teaching you how to become a well-rounded real estate agent.
The CE Shop
The CE Shop is an award-winning real estate school with a vision to be a world leader in professional education. The CE Shop aims to provide a convenient and informative alternative to traditional in-classroom training.
Its sales license renewal package will set you back by around $100. Individual courses start at around $35.
The CE Shop’s continuing education courses are well-formatted. It has a table of contents that organizes the chapters and lets you easily track your progress.
At the end of every lesson, there is a slide dedicated to reviewing what you learned, helping you assess your understanding of the topics. Unlike its pre-licensing courses, though, its CE programs are not interactive.
What is missing in h is additional physical resources. The school does not offer textbooks or downloadable PDFs. Instead, it lets you print the materials so you can study offline.
On the other hand, one of the best things about The CE Shop is its customer service. Other schools only offer support via phone or email, but The CE Shop has a live chat function that easily lets you speak with a representative when you have concerns.
Kaplan Real Estate
Kaplan Real Estate is considered a big name in the e-learning business. For years, Kaplan has been offering online education to professionals from a variety of sectors.
Kaplan’s real estate continuing education courses are a bit more expensive than others. Its four-hour core program costs around $50, and its 10-hour complete package costs about $100.
Talking about user experience, Kaplan Real Estate offers flexible delivery methods for its online courses. For its South Carolina CE programs, it provides on-demand and self-paced click-through formats.
Its on-demand courses consist of a series of videos that walk you through each topic from around one to 10 minutes. This format is a good option if you are a visual learner and tend to learn more effectively by watching instead of reading.
If you plan to take this delivery method, though, you may want to take into consideration your available device. The on-demand courses would perhaps work better on a desktop or laptop rather than on a mobile phone.
Currently, Kaplan doesn’t have a package available for self-paced online programs. If you prefer this format, you may end up paying more because its courses are a bit more costly when purchased individually.
Keep Me Certified
Founded in 2011 in Boston, Keep Me Certified is one of the country’s fastest rising online real estate schools. Since its inception, it has helped educate more than 20,000 real estate professionals by offering high-quality continuing education programs.
Keep Me Certified offers some of the best rates for CE programs. Its four-hour mandatory course costs around $35, while its 10-hour package is a little under $60.
When it comes to user experience, registration with Keep Me Certified is super easy. Simply sign up for your desired courses, complete them, and print your certificate.
If you dislike reading, you will enjoy their on-demand video courses. You can complete the required CE credits by just watching educational videos at your pace. The videos are factual and direct to the point. They presented information clearly and concisely.
The downside to KMC’s course format, though, is it may not be suitable for some with weak Internet connections. Videos will require higher data consumption. They may load slowly due to network connectivity issues.
360 Training
360 Training has been around for the last decade, offering lots of state-approved real estate courses.
Other than their pre-licensing programs, they also offer continuing education. For this, you can go with a package or choose individual topics.
They have three CE packages – these come with a 10-hour, approved electives and core credits.
If you’re looking to save a few bucks to complete your renewal requirements, we suggest getting the course packages as these are much more affordable than buying individual courses.
Plus, you might even get a special discount code on their site!
When it comes to the actual lessons, expect to read a lot. 360 Training’s courses are very text-based and lack the engagement that you might need to keep you interested in the topics.
There is an audio option, but the tone can be monotonous after hours of listening. You might find yourself just reading.
And also, 360 Training’s content has a few typos and unnecessary information, which made some former students give it a low review.
If there’s one thing this school has to improve on, it’s how the courses are presented. It would be better if they offered more videos and quick summaries at the end of each chapter.
Nonetheless, 360 Training has advantages, too. Aside from the affordable packages, everything is online and available 24/7. You can also save your progress, so you can always go back to it without having to find where you stopped.
FAQs
When is my South Carolina real estate license due for renewal?
Your SC real estate license is due for renewal every two years on June 30th.
What are the requirements for renewing a real estate license in South Carolina?
To satisfy the renewal requirements, all South Carolina real estate license holders must complete 10 hours of continuing education. Of the 10 hours, you must spend four on core or mandatory courses and the remaining on electives.
The other 6 hours can be any South Carolina-approved elective.
The core topic for the 2020-2022 renewal cycle is called “A Walk Through the Law.”
Who qualifies for Continuing Education exemption in South Carolina?
You may qualify for full or partial CE exemption under the following circumstances:
- At the time of renewal, you are a licensed salesperson, and you took broker pre-licensing courses.
- You completed the 30-hour sales post-licensing course before January 1, 2017, and you are currently renewing for the first time.
- If you have been a sales or broker license holder for at least 25 years, you may be partially exempt. You will only be required to take the four-hour core course. You must apply for exemption and receive approval from the Commission.
- You are permanently exempt if you are over 65 and have had 25 years of experience before 2017. Similar to the above, you must file for exemption and wait for approval.
- You are a non-resident who has met the CE requirements in your licensed jurisdiction.
- You are on active military duty.
Conclusion
Choosing the online real estate school for your continuing education requirements is an essential task.
If you are looking for the best school to take your CE courses from, look for the one that will not only allow you to maintain your license but will also help you through an important part of your career – professional development.