Thinking about Online learning?
You are not alone. Many professionals are diligently trying to find better ways to complete their real estate continuing education. Have you ever asked yourself the following questions?
- How many CE hours have I completed?
- Where did I file my certificates of completion?
- When will I have time to locate a class or classes to meet my requirements?
Answering these questions can feel daunting because they require setting time aside to make phone calls, and of course doing Google after Google search for what you hope will be the easy answer.
Real estate continuing education to meet state license renewal requirements is not optional, but you already knew that. The real estate continuing education marketplace has grown substantially due to the advent of courses delivered online. No longer do real estate professionals have to hunt around for real estate courses to fit into their already full schedules. Online real estate courses are growing in abundance and quality.
Industry statistics released this year tell us that approximately 40% of NEW agents will complete their pre-licensing real estate courses online. Why, you ask? To save time and money - the two most highly regarded commodities in our western culture, particularly amongst real estate professionals. Why would you spend more time and money than you need to complete your required real estate continuing education? The fact is, you shouldn't.
Time
Is there anything more valuable in our world? To answer a question with a question, do you ever hear yourself saying, "where does all the time go?" or "can you believe how fast the time flew by?" or "aren't there just a few more hours in the day?" We all cherish our time in both our professional real estate life and our personal lives, so why spend valuable time going to class when you can take your required real estate continuing education courses online, at a time that works for YOU. A credible online real estate continuing education provider will have systems that allow you to work on your real estate courses at times and for durations that work for you. This allows you to complete your hours in an easy and efficient way -- total flexibility.
Money
Real estate professionals are excellent producers of efficiency and appreciate both money making and money saving opportunities.
Money savings
Today's energy costs are high and transportation costs are HIGHER. Taking real estate courses online is a great alternative to driving long distances in search of live courses. The cost of online real estate courses is often less than the fees for a classroom course, making for an even larger combined savings.
Money making
A wise man by the name of Benjamin Franklin said, "Time is money", and since his time the world has adopted this thinking. If you can complete your real estate continuing education courses online in less or the same time as classroom courses, but do them when and where it's convenient for you, it frees more of your time to be engaged in money making opportunities. Time in front of buyers and sellers is what makes real estate professionals money, so why should anyone spend daytime business hours in the classroom when they can complete their hours online anytime?
In addition to time and money, let's look at a couple of other reasons why online real estate continuing education makes so much sense.
Relevance of content
Professionals have complained for years about having to "sit in class and listen to a boring instructor who doesn't know nearly as much as they do." The growth of online real estate courses has broadened the topics available to licensees seeking hours. Even for core or required course work, the topics and variety of real estate courses has grown dramatically. No longer do you need to settle for the same instructor who teaches essentially the same content every renewal period. Choose an online real estate continuing education course in a topic that is interesting to YOU, not the instructor. Online real estate course providers engage subject matter experts from around the country and even all around the world to put together the most relevant and practical content on a variety of topics. Shopping will allow you to fine tune just the right real estate continuing education courses in topics you are looking for, while meeting your state mandated requirements. Online real estate courses allow for real estate licensees to move through the content at a pace that is comfortable for the individual. Less experienced professionals can take their time reviewing content and absorbing the materials in the course while more seasoned professionals may move more quickly.
Convenience
The availability of reliable Internet access across all parts of the United States has reached an all time high with over 72% of the population. With this information explosion has come the expectation that information can be accessed at anytime from anywhere. Real estate continuing education courses are now following this trend. Most providers allow for online enrollment, so everything from finding real estate courses to the actual completion of them can be done in the wee hours of the night in your pajamas or right in the office during the day. As real estate professionals, we are used to working at all hours of the day or night, so why not complete your required real estate continuing education in the same way? We are all seeking convenience; online courses couldn't be more convenient.