OnlineEd Review: Is It Right for Your Real Estate Education?
Gina is a licensed real estate salesperson, experienced trainer, and former high school educator of 1,000+ learners. She writes for Fit Small Business with a focus on real estate content.
Kaylee specializes in real estate, B2B, and SaaS companies. You can find her expertise in sales and real estate content on Fit Small Business.
This article is part of a larger series on How to Become a Real Estate Agent.
What We Recommend OnlineEd For
OnlineEd is an ideal solution for a number of professionals in the insurance, construction, and real estate industries, but our primary recommendations are current real estate agents and mortgage brokers. For current real estate agents in any U.S. state, OnlineEd provides a wide selection of professional development and certification courses to support their career and help them gain specialized expertise.
On the other hand, current mortgage brokers looking for continuing education (CE) courses will find OnlineEd an ideal resource for engaging, thorough, and easy-to-use education they can complete on their own time.
Who OnlineEd Is Good For
- Real estate professionals wanting professional development: OnlineEd provides a selection of courses for real estate agents to learn more about marketing, building a business, and current real estate issues. There are also many courses for real estate certifications and designations for those wanting to gain specialized knowledge.
- Aspiring real estate agents in approved states: OnlineEd offers prelicensing courses in eight states, with multiple package options, a physical textbook, an online learning platform, and an exam prep program. For future real estate agents in the eight states, OnlineEd is a great online school to get your real estate license, especially in states like Oregon and Washington.
- Mortgage professionals needing CE: OnlineEd provides Nationwide Multistate Licensing System-approved (NMLS) continuing education courses in 50 states. Courses are provided online on its easy-to-navigate platform, which include text, printable pages, and video elements.
Who OnlineEd Is Not a Good Fit For
- Prelicensing students in non-approved states: OnlineEd only provides real estate prelicensing courses in eight states, and the insurance prelicensing course is only available in Oregon. For similar online courses available in every state, check out Colibri Real Estate.
- Real estate students wanting exam prep: OnlineEd includes tips for the real estate exam in their prelicensing packages, but does not offer an individual real estate exam prep course. For a more in-depth exam prep course, try The CE Shop.
- Students who need access to an instructor: All OnlineEd courses are self-paced, and only a small number include access to an instructor. For a real estate school with more instructor interaction and course format options, Kaplan may be a better fit.
OnlineEd Overview
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Easy-to-use course platform | No pass guarantees or refunds |
| Practice tests included | Lacks variety of course formats |
| Affordable prices | Prelicensing courses for real estate, mortgage, and insurance agents unavailable in most states |
| Real estate designations and professional development in every state | No post-licensing classes for new real estate agents |
| Courses written in-house | Limited instructor access |
OnlineEd Pricing
The pricing for OnlineEd’s courses varies depending on the type of course, the number of hours, and which state the material is based in. Courses range wildly in price, from $6 for an individual CE course to $1,398 for a 10-course professional development package.
Plans | Prelicensing | Exam Prep | Continuing Education | Career Enhancement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Who Plan Is Best For | Aspiring mortgage brokers across the country and insurance agents and contractors in Oregon | Mortgage and insurance students wanting exam study tips to prepare for their licensing exam | Current mortgage and real estate professionals wanting to complete CE requirements with relevant course topics | Current real estate agents wanting support and education on additional topics or certifications for specific real estate niches |
Course/Package Price Range | $49 to $275 | $40 to $150 | $6 to $300 | $19 to $1,398 |
Customer Support | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Available on All Devices | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
12 Months of Course Access | ✕ | 180 days | ✓ | ✓ |
Instructor Access | ✓ | Varies | ✕ | ✕ |
Practice Quizzes | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
Audio & Video Components | ✓ | ✓ | Varies | ✓ |
Types of Education Available
All OnlineEd courses are provided through its online course platform, which is accessible on any device and includes video and audio components, depending on your state. It’s unique from other online schools as it offers education options for real estate agents as well as contractors and insurance and mortgage brokers.
Prelicensing
OnlineEd’s prelicensing courses are for those who want to start a new career as a real estate agent, mortgage broker, contractor, or insurance agent. In order to begin operating as a professional in these fields, each state requires a specific type of coursework and a varying number of hours. For those wanting to become a real estate agent, OnlineEd provides approved prelicensing courses in the following eight states:
- Arizona
- California
- Florida
- Georgia
- Nevada
- Oregon
- Rhode Island
- Washington
For aspiring mortgage brokers, OnlineEd offers a state and NMLS-approved 20-hour prelicense course in every state. These packages include video and audio components, live question-and-answer sessions, a test simulator, practice tests, flashcards, and a test-taking strategy webinar.
Make sure you read the course information before purchasing your course to check how long you’ll have access. Some of OnlineEd’s courses are available for 12 months, and others only provide access for 80 days.
In order for real estate professionals to maintain an active license, they are legally required to complete a specified number of continuing education (CE) courses. Each state has different requirements, but OnlineEd provides CE packages and individual courses to help real estate agents and mortgage brokers maintain their license.
For current mortgage loan originators, OnlineEd provides a CE package in every state that meets the national requirements. These courses include video components and e-books, and are available for 12 months after registration. OnlineEd only provides CE courses for real estate professionals in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Florida, Georgia, and Rhode Island.
These courses range from $6 for a one-hour course to $134 for a 90-hour renewal package. However, OnlineEd also provides a range of individual elective course topics that are highly relevant to active real estate agents. Some CE course topics include:
- Managing Risk for Profit
- Successful Buyer Client Systems
- Beneath the Surface: Understanding the Anatomy of a House
- Fundamentals of Sustainable Homes
- Diversity, Systemic Racism, and Federal Fair Housing Law
- A Practice Guide to Cybersecurity
Pro tip:
OnlineEd provides only continuing education courses for license renewals, which aren’t the same as post-licensing courses. Every state requires real estate professionals to complete CE, whether newly licensed or have been in the business for decades. On the other hand, post-licensing is usually only required for new real estate agents, and isn’t required in many states.
Many professionals also mistakenly refer to “post-licensing” as the process of upgrading your license to become a real estate broker or managing broker. If you’re interested in taking a step up in your real estate career, learn more about how to become a real estate broker.
OnlineEd provides two options for aspiring mortgage professionals to prepare for their state exam: a test-taking strategy webinar and a video course. The self-paced course includes written guides and resources as well as videos from an instructor with exam tips. The webinar is a live, interactive, two-hour class with an instructor who teaches you how to schedule, take, and pass the NMLS mortgage licensing exam.
OnlineEd test-taking video course
For aspiring insurance agents in Oregon, OnlineEd provides exam prep options for life insurance, health insurance, personal lines insurance, property and casualty insurance, and additional combinations. Each course includes a test simulator with practice tests, and some include flashcards and additional e-books.
OnlineEd Features
OnlineEd offers a wide range of licensing and career enhancement courses for professionals in multiple industries. All courses are written and recorded by OnlineEd instructors, making them unique and keeping the price affordable. Every course offered by OnlineEd is presented through its user-friendly learning management system, which shows the course outline, displays your progress, and can include text, images, videos, audio recordings, and interactive quizzes.
Take a closer look at OnlineEd’s features:
General Features
- Affordably priced licensing courses
- Compliance and sexual harassment trainings for employees and managers
- Real estate license and career enhancement courses
- Mortgage licensing and compliance courses
- Insurance prelicensing
- Contractor licensing training
- Learning management system
OnlineEd’s core features include prelicensing and license maintenance courses for real estate agents, mortgage professionals, insurance agents, and contractors. It also provides sexual harassment prevention training for employees and managers, which is useful for professionals in all industries and required in many states.
OnlineEd’s CFPB compliance training
All of the courses provided by OnlineEd are created by professional instructors, keeping course prices affordable. The courses are also presented on its proprietary course platform, which means they are easy to navigate and accessible on any device.
Easy-to-Use Course Platform
- Learning management system
- Brokerages can customize own training
- Progress tracker
Every course provided by OnlineEd is delivered through its unique and user-friendly course platform or learning management system (LMS). Within your account, you can easily view the status of your current and expired courses.
OnlineEd learning management system
When you open the course, you can easily see your current progress, and a course outline is shown on the left-hand side of your screen. There is essentially no learning curve to using the platform, so students can focus on their material.
OnlineEd’s LMS for real estate offices
In addition, OnlineEd offers its LMS to real estate and mortgage offices wanting to provide their own training programs. It makes it easy for real estate brokerages and companies to create and add their own custom trainings, ultimately supporting their agents more effectively. The LMS includes additional tools like assigning due dates, tracking student progress, and branding.
Practice Quizzes
- Test simulator
- Real-life scenarios
- Practice questions
OnlineEd’s Mortgage Prelicensing course demo
All the prelicensing and exam prep courses offered by OnlineEd include a test simulator with practice questions. The practice questions are placed throughout the course in order to help students gauge their own understanding of the concepts and prepare them for the licensing exam. These assessments in your licensing course are key to helping you interpret and remember the information and get accustomed to answering real-life questions.
Real Estate Designations & Certifications
- Specialize in a niche market
- Build skill set
- Attract target audience
One of the most valuable offerings from OnlineEd is its selection of professional certification courses. Real estate certifications and designations are one of the best ways to set yourself apart from the hundreds or thousands of competing agents in your area.
Certified Home Marketing Specialist course demo
Having a designation in your title shows potential clients that you have proven specialized expertise in the area they need help with, which is key to being successful in real estate. OnlineEd provides courses for luxury home specialists and home staging professionals, and even includes courses from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
OnlineEd career enhancement catalog
Real Estate Issues & Marketing Courses
- Up-to-date content
- Successful business strategies
- Affordable pricing
Within OnlineEd’s professional development course catalog, you’ll find a wide range of courses that help real estate agents with their business, marketing, and understanding of current industry issues. Plus, many of the individual courses cost as little as $19.
OnlineEd real estate issues catalog
OnlineEd is a great go-to resource for agents who need specific education on current issues. For example, “Making Savvy Home Energy and Solar Upgrades” is a simple, one-hour course that teaches agents how to understand various home energy upgrades and guide clients in their decision-making.
Another standout course from OnlineEd is “Power Up!” for new real estate agents. This video course, with a 187-page manual, covers many aspects of setting up a new real estate business, including networking, running an open house, social media marketing, and managing transactions.
Power Up! course from OnlineEd
Ease of Use
It’s clear that OnlineEd prioritizes a user-friendly experience for students as soon as you open the website. You can easily see what it offers and choose the type of education you’re looking for. Courses are divided by state, so all you need to do is click on your state to see a clear breakdown of every course.
Once you’ve chosen a course, checking out takes only a few minutes. You can see the total price of the course from beginning to end, and all you need to do is add your contact information and payment to immediately access your course.
OnlineEd’s checkout process
In addition, OnlineEd’s course platform is extremely intuitive, with a clean layout and easy-to-use navigation buttons. It makes it simple for students to access and complete their course material, track their progress, and assess their own understanding. For prospective students, OnlineEd includes an extensive amount of details on the courses, including an outline, length of course access, and additional study tools.
OnlineEd Alternatives
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
Best For: Prelicensing packages with instructor support and exam prep | Best For: Variety of course format options in most states | Best For: Affordable packages with interactive elements |
Starting Price: $119 | Starting Price: $99 | Starting Price: $116 |
Key Features:
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If you’re not sure if OnlineEd is the right choice for you, check out the six best online real estate schools.
What Users Say in OnlineEd Reviews
Most online reviews for OnlineEd are positive, with many specifically noting how easy it is to contact customer support and to complete the courses. Students said that the course material was easy to follow and understand, and many reviewers reported that it thoroughly prepared them for their exams and careers.
- Indeed: 4.4 out of 5 based on 42 reviews
- Trustpilot: 3.7 out of 5 based on 9 reviews
- Better Business Bureau: 4.33 out of 5 based on 12 reviews
Some of the negative reviews for OnlineEd expressed frustration that they didn’t offer all the courses they needed to complete. Others said that they wanted more access to an instructor during the course. If having an instructor is a priority for you, Colibri Real Estate might be a better fit for your needs.
Bottom Line
OnlineEd is a reputable, easy-to-use course provider for real estate, mortgage, and insurance professionals. Even though its course offerings are limited in some states, it’s an ideal resource for real estate professionals of all experience levels to get support and education for their careers. Visit OnlineEd’s website to sign up.
