Congratulations on taking the first step towards obtaining your Virginia real estate license! Some of you might just be in the initial research phase, while others are ready to get signed up with a real estate school as soon as possible. In either case, I’m here to help.
My name is Mike Rogers and I’ve been a real estate professional for many years (I’ve lost count). I decided to create this website in 2016 in order to help those planning on entering the real estate industry. A huge part of this site is directing people to the proper online real estate courses. You have many good options available to you and I will be sharing my own personal reviews and comparisons for what I believe are the 5 best online real estate courses in Virginia. But first, I would like to discuss some things you should watch out for before signing up.
Want The Fast Answer? This Is My Top Recommended Online Real Estate Course In Virginia
The Biggest Problem With Most Online Real Estate Courses In Virginia
Ok, well, this problem isn’t really specific to just Virginia. It’s an industry-wide problem. The online real estate license training industry is plagued with incredibly outdated courses. Some of them still aren’t even optimized to work on mobile devices, so if you want to study on-the-go, you’re out of luck.
Even in a best-case scenario, what are most online real estate courses like? They are about as bland and boring as they can get. Page after page after page of plain text without much help at all. You’re just blasted with information and are expected to memorize it all. It’s just a really inefficient way for students to retain information, and often time gets people so frustrated that they just give up. There are so many online real estate schools in Virginia that have average student pass rates of just 50% or less. That is absolutely unacceptable!
The good news is they aren’t all like that. There are still some good online real estate schools certified in Virginia that are worth looking into that have student pass rates of 80%. Before signing up for any online real estate course, you should really pay attention to which course sets you up for success rather than failure. I’ve done a lot of that homework and research for you.
Most people entering the real estate industry do it as a second career. For many, attending classrooms at specific days and times just isn’t possible. Obtaining your real estate license online is actually the most popular method to complete the coursework in Virginia.
My goal with this guide is to help direct you towards the best online real estate courses in Virginia. While I have a top recommendation, I decided to give you 5 options to look into. Check out each of them and go with whoever you feel is the best for your own personal learning style. You have many more options than just the schools I recommend, but I really encourage you to stick with one of the options I’ve laid out below.
Comparing The 5 Best Online Real Estate License Courses In Virginia
The below list includes reviews of who I believe are the 5 best online real estate license courses in Virginia. I have personally gone through these courses myself. In these reviews, I’ve tried to state what makes them unique and different from each other. Depending on your learning style, my first recommendation may not be best for you, so go through each review, check out each school, and as long as you go with one of the courses on this list, you’ll be signing up for a good course.
#1 - Aceable Agent (Top Recommendation)
Aceable Agent is without a doubt the absolute best online real estate license course in Virginia. This may come as a surprise, but they are also the most recent online real estate course to be approved in the state. They were just approved in Virginia in October of 2019. So, why would I make my top recommendation such a new school?
Well, for starters, Aceable Agent has already proven themselves in other states. For instance, they first launched in the state of Texas back in 2017. That is still fairly recent, but Aceable Agent has already set itself apart from the other schools out there. The most important metric to look at are student pass rates. After thousands of students have gone through their course, they now have a proven 80% student pass rate, making them the most successful online real estate course out there.
The reason their student pass rate is so high is due to how they deliver the course material. I explained above that most online real estate courses in Virginia are vastly outdated, but that just isn’t the case with Aceable Agent. Instead of just plain text, they also deliver the content through video, graphics, animations, and interactive features which really help students retain the most important information.
Aceable Agent is also the only online real estate course in Virginia that has a dedicated app for all your mobile devices. Their course isn’t just “mobile-friendly” – they have actual apps that no other course has. This makes it the best choice for anyone who plans to study from their phone or tablet.
There are many other reasons why Aceable Agent is the best online real estate course in Virginia, but if you’d like to learn more about them, feel free to check out my more detailed review of Aceable Agent here.
#2 – Colibri Real Estate
Colibri Real Estate is the course I personally used to obtain my real estate license online, so of course, I have to put it on this list. This course might be preferred by those who don’t really want to deal with videos, animations, graphics, and all the fancy features that Aceable Agent has. Some people prefer to learn with mainly text and I totally get that. In fact, they have several different packages you can choose from when you sign up. I even got the package where they sent me actual textbooks to go along with the online material. Call me old school (or just old), but I like being able to write notes and highlight in actual books.
They do have some other good methods of learning though. For instance, you will be issued a personal instructor who you can email and get a response usually within 24hrs just in case you need help along the way. They also have a student forum where real estate experts respond along with your fellow students. And finally, they have a live video Q&A session every week so you can ask questions and have them answered by a live instructor.
While Colibri Real Estate does not offer dedicated mobile apps, the platform was recently updated to make the course mobile-friendly. You can switch between devices any time as they keep your place for you.
I personally found their Exam Prep program to be excellent. The exam prep is not a part of the actual coursework but is a supplementary program that helps prepare you to take the actual Virginia real estate license exam. They offer some other good supplemental training such as helping with some of the math portions which I am terrible at. I found that to be a big help as well.
So while Colibri Real Estate might not be as “advanced” as some other options, not everyone learns well with videos and animations. Some of us prefer plain old text. So if you’re a little old school like me, Colibri Real Estate might be a great option for you. Feel free to learn more about them in my more detailed Colibri Real Estate review.
#3 – OnCourse Learning
OnCourse Learning is another Virginia state-approved online real estate license school. While prices change, this is a course that tends to be a little bit on the cheaper side when compared to some of the other options on this list, so if money is tight, you should definitely check this course out. They offer several package options and also offer a “pay as you go” option where you pay for each course individually as you take them. This helps to spread payments out over time, making it a little easier to pay for.
Even though they are on the cheaper side, OnCourse Learning goes above the basic minimum state requirements. Their ExamPrep xL is probably the best practice test program I’ve seen. They use an algorithm as you go through their exam prep program to determine which areas you’re struggling with the most, so the more you go through it, the more you’ll learn and memorize the areas you struggle with most. This dramatically increases information retention and thereby increases your chances of passing the Virginia real estate license exam on the first try.
OnCourse Learning does not have a mobile app but the course is mobile-friendly. You can switch between devices and go through the course at your own pace. They also tend to have some pretty high-quality instructors. The instructors are available via email or through their student forums.
Another thing that OnCourse Learning has going for it is their experience. They offer online real estate courses in almost every state and have been at this for many years, so all that experience helps them continuously improve their course content. This is definitely an online real estate course worth considering.
#4 – The CE Shop
The CE Shop operates all across the country and they have some of the highest student pass rates in the industry. On a nationwide basis, The CE Shop has an 84% student pass rate. This is significantly higher than the industry average. For the state of Virginia specifically, they have an average student pass rate of 79% which is far above the state average. Clearly, The CE Shop is doing something right. I always claim that we can talk about certain features all day long, but if students aren’t passing the course, those features are useless. Well, The CE Shop has the numbers to back them up, including a self-reported 97% student satisfaction rate.
This is another modern online real estate course in Virginia. Their content delivery includes lots of videos and animations which can really help break the course up. I also found that this course is organized very well. A lot of online real estate courses essentially give you very large PDF files that you just need to navigate yourself. Well, The CE Shop has created a system that is far more organized than that and they really help to guide you through the process.
I also like that The CE Shop stands behind their product. For some reason, money-back guarantees are not very popular with these online real estate schools, but The CE Shop does offer a money-back guarantee. As long as you haven’t completed more than 50% of the course, you are able to get your money back. So, you can really try out The CE Shop with no risk.
And finally, The CE Shop offers some excellent supplementary training products like digital flashcards and, my personal favorite, their math handbook. I’m just terrible at math and I found that their math guide is far above what other courses are providing.
Kaplan is one of the names on this list you might recognize. Kaplan has been around for a very long time and you may have seen one of their physical buildings near your hometown. They offer training in many different areas, but they teamed up with Brightwood College to create this online real estate training course that has been approved in Virginia.
I recommend Kaplan to those who plan to do the majority of their studying from a laptop or PC. This course is a bit more expensive than most other courses, but the reasoning is due to the quality instructors they employ. Kaplan has the absolute best instructors in the industry, so that’s really what you’re getting when you go with these guys.
I would like to see Kaplan improve their mobile experience and maybe add some additional videos to their program (they have some very good ones but could use more). Overall though, what Kaplan boasts about is the quality of instruction you’ll receive from them, so if having a very experienced instructor is important to you Kaplan could be a great option.