Regardless of whether it’s your chosen career, your sole source of income, a side hustle, or a calling found later in life — it’s never too late to get into real estate.
Your first step? Get your real estate license.
If you’ve been working for a while, though, getting back into the groove of studying may be challenging. One way to make it easier is to pick the right school.
Fortunately, you have many options for real estate education in Louisville. However, the more alternatives you have, the more difficult deciding becomes.
Going through all the possibilities will take up valuable time.
That’s where we come in. We’ve done the legwork and came up with a list of the best real estate schools in Louisville, Kentucky. And as we’re looking for the best school for YOU, we included both online and in-person schools.
So shall we?
The Best Online Real Estate Schools in Louisville, KY
Maybe you already have a 9 to 5 job. Or, you have kids and can’t leave them at home.
There are several reasons why aspiring real estate professionals have difficulty with the study requirements. Sometimes, the inconvenience is enough to make you think about delaying your education until the timing’s right.
Well, guess what? The timing’s never going to be perfect. So if you’re sure this is what you want to do, the time to start is now!
How do you get around the scheduling challenges? It’s simple! Take your classes online!
Here are 5 of the best online real estate schools to consider:
Ready to go into details? Here we go!
Colibri Real Estate
With over 2 decades of experience under its belt, Colibri Real Estate is one of your best options. It’s part of the Colibri real estate group, making McKissock and the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing its sister brands.
What’s more, both ARELLO and IDECC have certified their courses, so you know you’re getting quality content.
Now, you have multiple options if you choose to complete your pre-licensing course with Colibri Real Estate.
Unlike other online real estate schools that only offer self-paced courses, Colibri Real Estate gives you the option to attend LiveStream classes. You can consider this format if you want a simulated classroom setting without leaving your home.
In Louisville, there’s only one schedule offered. You’ll attend classes thrice a week from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm for about 3 months. Once you’ve gone through all the sessions, you have 7 days to complete the Course Final Exam.
Your second option is to finish the coursework through their online, self-paced program. If you choose this option, you can choose between 4 packages:
- The Basics — you get the 96-hour pre-licensing course required in Kentucky.
- Exam Preparation — adds the exam prep to the course content.
- Exam Preparation Plus — grants you access to 40 hours of live Q&A sessions with instructions per month.
- Ultimate Learning — receive extensive resources for professional development for a year.
Except for the Basic Course, all packages come with a Pass or Don’t Pay Guarantee. If you don’t pass the state exam on your first try, Colibri Real Estate will give your money back!
The CE Shop
The CE Shop is another real estate school that offers various courses for present and future real estate professionals in Louisville. Whether you’re looking for pre-licensing, post-licensing, or Continuing Education courses, The CE Shop has them all.
Its pre-licensing course is entirely self-paced, which means you can access the material any time you want. You can go through as little or as much material as you please — you’ll have complete control of your rate of learning. If you run into complex concepts, you can spend more time on them, too.
Most of The CE Shop’s students are very satisfied with their learning experience. A lot of it has to do with the platform used.
You’ll take your courses on a portal called LEAP. Besides the usual text and video content, LEAP provides interactive images. You can check what you’ve learned through activities like matching terms and definitions and true or false scenarios.
Similar to other schools, their pre-licensing course comes in 4 packages:
- Course Only — contains the 96-hour pre-licensing program
- Standard Package — adds the Exam Prep Edge to the course
- Value Package — includes 3 business-building courses to the Standard Package
- Premium Package — gives a post-licensing package with 48 hours’ worth of courses
Hondros College
Like Colibri Real Estate, Hondros College is part of the Colibri Group after merging in 2019. On its own, though, Hondros has more than 50 years of experience in providing quality education.
It offers quality content. Experts with real-life experience in the real estate industry developed its courses.
You’ll come across instructors with similar backgrounds. You can rest easy that you’ll be learning from people who have been practicing real estate and are up-to-date with current market trends and demands.
Unlike previous schools, you can’t purchase the course on its own, but you can choose between 3 pre-license packages:
- Kentucky Real Estate Pre-Licensing Package — contains the 96-hour pre-licensing program and practice questions based on the content.
- Kentucky Real Estate Pre-Licensing Package with CompuCram Exam Prep — provides additional tools and resources to prepare you for the state exam.
- Kentucky Real Estate Pre-Licensing Package with CompuCram Exam Prep and Post-Licensing — the bundle’s name says it all. On top of the course and the exam prep tool, you also get Post-Licensing material.
All packages come with a 30-day refund policy.
If you want to get a feel of how Hondros’ course works, check out the demo available on their website.
Kentucky Realtor Institute
If you’re looking for a more intensive learning experience, you’ll be interested in what Kentucky Realtor Institute has to offer. Like other real estate schools, you get to choose from several pre-licensing packages.
Even with the most basic package (Silver), KRI’s pre-licensing course is unique. It’s broken into 2 parts:
- Part A — goes through general principles of real estate. You can take it on a mobile-friendly platform.
- Part B — focuses on Kentucky license law and can be taken not only on a mobile-friendly platform but on a downloadable app. This segment also includes the following:
- A course project. It consists of 2 case studies and is an excellent way to apply the concepts you’ve learned in earlier parts.
- A final exam that you have to complete. You’re given 3 attempts to get a passing score.
Your other options are the Gold Study Package (adds a textbook, a study guide, and the KRI License Law Manual) and the Platinum Study Package (includes tools for exam prep).
Kaplan Real Estate
Closing our list is Kaplan, a known provider of professional development education. Real estate is only one of the industries it caters to — others include accounting, architecture, and engineering.
Kaplan can help you with your education requirements, regardless of where you are in your real estate career. You can find pre-licensing, post-licensing, and continuing education courses here.
Although Kaplan offers courses in 5 different formats, all pre-licensing courses available in Louisville are online. It means you’ll go through a self-paced program that you can access anytime you want.
You can choose to purchase the 96-hour pre-licensing course separately or go for one of their packages:
- Kentucky Real Estate Principles Online Course Package with Exam Prep — you’ll get an online program to help you prepare for the National PSI and Kentucky Real Estate Exam and access to interactive study groups.
- Career Launcher Package — adds the Real Estate Accelerator Live Online Course to the earlier bundle.
The Best In-Person Real Estate School in Louisville, KY.
Online education isn’t for everyone. No matter how much you want to learn the content, sometimes you’re just looking for human interaction.
If you know this is how you best learn, taking in-person classes may be a better option for you. Don’t worry — we also have a list of schools you can explore.
HomeServices Real Estate Academy (4.8 Rating from 16 Google Reviews)
- Address: ShelbyHurst Campus, 600 N Hurstbourne Parkway #250, Louisville, KY
- Phone: (502) 394 6189
Century Real Estate School (5.0 Rating from 64 Google Reviews)
- Address: 9405 Mill Brook Rd, Louisville, KY
- Phone: (502) 905 8148
- Address: 4400 Breckenridge Ln #310, Louisville, KY
- Phone: (502) 429 8822
All these schools usually offer in-person classes. Due to current conditions, however, some may not have on-site services at the moment. It’s best to contact the schools directly to know about your options.
Frequently Asked Questions About Real Estate Education in Louisville, KY
How much studying do I need to do before I get my license?
In a nutshell, you need to complete a 96-hour pre-licensing course. But it doesn’t mean you have to finish everything in one sitting.
If you take your course online, the content will be the same, but you’ll have complete control over how long and frequent your study sessions are.
I have trouble sitting still for long periods. How can I get through real estate classes?
You’ll seldom find 8-hour real estate classes, either in-person or live online. Most run for shorter durations, multiple times in a week.
However, if you think 4 to 5 hours may still be challenging, perhaps completing your educational requirements online is a better option.
Online real estate schools grant you access to the material 24/7, which means you start and stop at your convenience. Study when you’re most productive and stop when you feel yourself zoning out.
There’s also no ideal length for an online study session — you can spend hours pouring over the material or sneaking a peak for thirty minutes.
If there’s a particularly complex material, you’ll have the option to review it as much and as often as you want. The only thing you need to be mindful of is to finish the course before it expires.
What’s the most cost-effective way to get my real estate license?
If budget is a serious consideration, online may be a better option.
Online courses are generally more affordable than in-person classes. That’s a sure way to save money, but it isn’t the only one.
Attending in-person classes also involves traveling from one place to another (unless the venue is next to your house or office). It means you’ll have additional expenses from gas or fares.
If you attend an evening schedule and have kids, you might have to pay for a babysitter. These may seem like small expenses, but they easily stack up. If you’re not careful, you may find yourself spending significantly more than what you first thought.
Final Words
There are so many considerations when preparing to start your real estate career. With the many decisions you have to make, sometimes it becomes overwhelming.
If you find yourself in this situation, take a deep breath and a step back. Make one choice at a time instead of trying to settle everything at once.
What kind of environment makes it conducive for you to learn?
Does studying with other people make you absorb lessons better or distract you?
Questions like these give you a better idea of whether you should opt for in-person or online courses.
Next, think about your learning preferences. Do you like reading, or would you prefer engaging activities? Your answers can help you choose which school to go with since each may offer a different experience.
Take it one step at a time. Before you know it, you’ve figured out where you want to go, and you’ll be well on your way to your new career!
