Colibri Review (2024): Accredited Real Estate Licensing Courses

Is Colibri real estate school legitimate? What kind of courses do they offer? Are they worth it? Discover whether Colibri Real Estate School lives up to the hype in this comprehensive review: 

• What Is Colibri Real Estate?
• Colibri Real Estate Courses 
• Colibri Real Estate Packages & Pricing
• Why Choose Colibri’s Real Estate School?
  
• Drawbacks of Colibri Real Estate School
• Colibri Real Estate Competitors & Alternatives 
• Colibri Real Estate FAQ
• Is Colibri Real Estate Worth It?

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Getting a real estate agent license in the United States typically involves completing a required pre-licensing course, usually lasting about 180 hours.

The good news is that whether you are interested in wholesaling real estate or are a house flipper, you don’t have to halt your ongoing real estate activities to take the course. Online courses offered by Colibri allow you to pursue your pre-licensing education and simultaneously your REI endeavors.

Colibri, part of the Colibri Group founded by seasoned real estate entrepreneur Mike Duran in 1998, is among the country’s most popular accredited online real estate schools.

The online school, formerly Real Estate Express, claims to have helped over 500,000 aspiring real estate professionals complete training since its inception in 1996. 

Discover why Real Estate Skills recommends Colibri Real Estate School for getting your real estate license.

What Is Colibri Real Estate?

Colibri Real Estate is an established online real estate education provider. It is part of a stable online education website known as Colibri Group which also includes McKissock Learning, and Institute for Luxury Home Marketing.

Colibri Real Estate has provided real estate education services to over 520,000 customers who sought out their services as they launched their real estate careers. It is recognized as an accredited online real estate education provider for aspiring licensees in 40 states plus Washington, D.C., and provides continuing education coursework through its sister company, McKissock Learning, in all 50 states.

In addition, Colibri Real Estate is an accredited real estate education provider for those upgrading to a broker license in nine states and offers required post-licensing coursework programs in 15 states.

Colibri Real Estate also provides real estate license exam prep services in all 50 states plus Washington D.C..

In partnership with Learn Mortgage, the company offers coursework for pre-licensing, as well as exam prep and continuing education for the mortgage industry.

Get Your Real Estate License With Colibri Real Estate: Yes, I Want To Get My Real Estate License!

Colibri Real Estate Courses

Whether you want to become a real estate agent, enhance your marketability as a house-flipping investor, or broaden your property management services, Colibri has a course option to suit you.

The institution offers pre-licensing to continuing education courses, empowering every real estate player with learning opportunities to gain a competitive edge for the best-paying jobs in real estate.

Check out their primary real estate course offerings below:

Real Estate Pre-License Course 

Colibri's primary offering is the real estate pre-licensing course. It covers real estate laws, regulations, and all necessary topics an aspiring agent needs to pass the licensing exam.

Available in 40 states, Colibri’s pre-licensing course is primarily self-paced allowing learners to study at their own pace. It also features on-demand instructor support, three study guides, and career coaching videos.

However, students can upgrade their course to include real-time, live-stream classes led by an instructor, exam prep, and a year-long RISMedia subscription.

Real Estate Exam Prep

Finished your pre-licensing course but are not ready to sit the final exam? Colibri’s real estate exam prep course might just be what you need.

It covers topics specific to each state’s real estate licensing exam and features simulated practice exams, readiness assessment tests, flashcards, and audio review guides. The program is available exclusively, but you can also subscribe to it as an add-on to the pre-licensing course.

Whether you enroll just for the exam prep course or purchase it as part of your pre-licensing course, Colibri offers a pass or don’t pay guarantee whereby if you fail the exam on your first attempt, you receive a full refund on your original purchase.

Note that the money-back guarantee is exclusive to particular states. So, be sure to inquire whether it’s available in your state before you enroll.

Real Estate Post-Licensing Courses

Colibri offers post-licensing courses ranging from 7 to 60 hours, specifically in states with mandatory additional coursework for license maintenance and renewal. These courses typically cover advanced legal and ethical considerations, risk management, property marketing practices, client relationship management, pricing strategies, and more advanced topics.

They’re designed to help recently licensed agents transition from the initial licensing phase to being successful and ethical real estate practitioners.

Real Estate Continuing Education (CE) Course

Colibri, in collaboration with its sister company, McKissock Learning, offers about 220 state and board-approved continuing education courses to real estate agents seeking to renew and maintain their licenses. Since CE requirements vary between states, the duration of these courses varies, with some as short as three hours.

As with its other offerings, Colibri offers CE courses in both self-paced and instructor-led live stream formats.

Colibri Real Estate Packages & Pricing

Whether you’re an aspiring real estate agent or investor, knowing how much you’ll pay for a desired course is of the essence.

That said, Colibri offers four main pricing packages across all states:

The Basics Package

The package features foundational real estate practice courses, such as the state-required pre-licensing course for aspiring agents. Students who subscribe to this package also unlock access to seasoned industry instructors, comprehensive course materials, and interactive learning resources.

They may upgrade their basics package to feature exam prep, virtual instructor-led classes, career booster, live engagement with students, and a year of RISMedia subscription.

The Basics Package costs between $131 and $549 across all states.

Exam Preparation Package

Colibri’s exam preparation package is geared toward aspiring real estate agents aiming to ensure they pass their state licensing exam. It’s also suitable for real estate investors and individuals who’ve already completed their pre-licensing courses but want to refine their skills for the state exam.

Starting at $99, the package covers state-targeted exam topics and offers readiness assessments, study aids, and practice exams to help learners thoroughly prepare for their licensing exam. Additionally, it comes with a pass or don’t pay guarantee in particular states.

Exam Preparation Plus Package

If it’s been a while since you finished your pre-licensing course and are gearing up for the state exam, Colibri’s exam preparation plus course package is a good fit. The cost varies by state but typically ranges between $450 and $524. Although the package is on the higher end of the spectrum, it’s incredibly comprehensive.

It includes 90 hours of SAE, state-approved instructor support, career success tools, one printed textbook, interactive learning tools and pre-assessments, flashcards, vocabulary matching tools, a readiness tracker, simulated practice exams, the Exam Crammer Webinar Series, Instructor Q&A, and audible course summaries. It also features the pass or don’t pay guarantee.

Ultimate Learning Package

If you prefer an all-inclusive take on real estate learning, you might want to check out Colibri’s ultimate package.

It includes a 180-hour exam prep course, a 60-hour state course, instructor Q&A sessions, physical textbooks (the quantity varies between states), unlimited practice exams, flashcards, a digital planner, simulated tests, readiness assessment, and audible course summaries.

The package also features membership and professional growth opportunities and a year-long real estate career booster pack, which equips newly licensed agents with the resources and training they need to succeed in the real estate market post-learning, such as buyer and seller checklists, job aids, and customizable action plan templates.

Simply put, Colibri’s Ultimate Package is incredibly comprehensive and perfect for REI professionals looking to master the ropes of the real estate industry.

The Ultimate Package Costs $458 to $655.

Get Your Real Estate License With Colibri Real Estate: Yes, I Want To Get My Real Estate License!

Why Choose Colibri’s Real Estate School?

Here are some of the top reasons most professionals choose Colibri for real estate licensing, post-licensing, and continuing education courses:

• Student Experience
• Features
• User Friendliness
• Credibility
• Live Video Options
• Instructor Access
• Note Taking Integration
• Pass or Don’t Pay Guarantee

Student Experience

A positive learning experience fosters motivation and increases the likelihood of students completing their course. Colibri excels in delivering such experiences. How? Firstly, the real estate school offers self-paced and live-stream learning options. These options allow students to pick a format most suitable for their schedule and preferences, setting them up for a learning experience they’ll enjoy from the get-go.

Additionally, Colibri assigns each learner at least one instructor who will respond to their concerns within a business day. This creates clear communication channels and promotes a supportive learning environment where students' concerns and feedback are promptly addressed.

Furthermore, Colibri’s instructors hold live Q&A sessions five days a week for self-paced and live-stream learning. These sessions serve as a one-on-one forum for students to ask their course and real-estate-related queries.

To add icing on the cake, the website has a discussion board on the student dashboard where learners can directly interact with each other. This enhances student-student engagement and builds a sense of community in a learning environment where most learners typically tend to feel isolated.

Notably, Colibri's courses cover a broad spectrum of real estate education. From pre-licensing for first-time professionals to post-licensing and continuing education for ongoing professional development, the school serves as a centralized resource for all of a student’s real estate educational needs. This creates convenience, consistency, and a seamless progression through the various stages of real estate learning.

Features

In addition to a supportive and engaging learning environment, Colibri Real Estate offers a range of features that make pursuing real estate learning a breeze.

Some of the most notable features include:

• My Goal Tracker: This tool is designed to help learners enrolled in self-paced courses track their progress. Here’s how it works: the student inputs the course hours they wish to cover each week, and their ideal completion date, and the tracker monitors whether they’re on or off the pace. This not only helps them remain focused and motivated but also promotes accountability.
• My Tasks: This feature provides a list of checkable tasks that students in the pre-licensing courses must complete during their course duration to successfully prepare for the state licensing exams. The ability to check off completed tasks helps students stay organized and promotes a sense of accomplishment as they work through the list. The checkable list also serves as a visual roadmap that allows learners to track their progress, stay on track with their coursework, and, in essence, contribute to a more structured and fulfilling learning experience.
• Exam Crammer Series: This series, available to students who’ve recently completed their pre-licensing course, consists of six 1-hour webinars. It’s usually led by qualified real estate instructors and often covers topics and questions that often come up in that student’s state-specific licensing exams, consequently setting them up for success.
• CompuCram Exam Prep: This is yet another feature designed to help real estate professionals partaking in Colibri courses achieve exam success. It’s more comprehensive than the exam crammer series. It features interactive tools and pre-assessments, unlimited practice tests, a readiness tracker, and simulated practice tests that mirror the learner’s state licensing exam. It also includes audible course summaries that simplify topics and concepts that commonly pop up in the exam.

User Friendliness

Beyond providing a supportive learning environment, Colibri Real Estate License School promotes a positive student experience by providing a highly intuitive learning management system. For instance, although the self-paced course is heavily text-reliant, it’s organized into easy-to-follow content blocks.

Browsing through these blocks is even easier, thanks to the various UI features on the platform. The homepage has a quick start button that takes students where they last left off, while the course page has a side menu on the left for smooth navigation.

The “My Courses” tab on the top menu displays all courses and content students have subscribed to. It also features filter and sort options that allow learners to organize the content materials according to their preference so they’re easy to navigate.

Moreover, there’s a progress checker at the bottom of each content block. It shows how much of the content a learner has covered, how much time is left before they complete the block they are on, and even detects inactivity, thus promoting time management, and focus.

At each chapter’s end, there’s a multiple-choice quiz allowing students to instantly assess their understanding and identify areas for improvement.

Another notable UI feature is the learning launcher. From basic course information to the assigned instructor details and links to course-specific articles and even discussions, it consolidates all information relevant to a learner’s course into a single tab. This saves time and enhances the overall learning experience by allowing learners convenient access to everything course-related within one place.

Additionally, the student dashboard features a section labeled My Learning Path, where students can find curated course recommendations for exam preparations.

Simply put, Colibri’s student-facing portal is designed to offer the best user experience, allowing learners to focus on the most important task: learning.

Credibility

Is Colibri real estate legit? The short answer is Yes. IDECC and ARELLO back Colibri Real Estate School.

ARELLO is an international membership-based and member-managed organization that regulates real estate practice and enforces real estate law. ARELLO certifies distance education course design and delivery.

IDECC is an internationally recognized certification program that validates the design and delivery of distance education courses, including online courses. The program is endorsed or required by more than 40 U.S. and Canadian jurisdictions for courses in professional licensing education.

Also, having been in the game since the 90s, Colibri boasts positive reviews across many platforms and has a proven track record of working with over 500,000 real estate professionals. Their instructors, licensed real estate professionals with practical industry experience further solidify their strong reputation. 

Colibri Real Estate is also part of the Colibri Group, an established online learning education company for various professions. Simply put, as far as credibility is concerned, Colibri Real Estate stands as a reputable institution with a history of success.

Live Video Options

In addition to self-paced learning, Colibri offers real-time live stream classes daily led by its qualified instructors. Students can interact with the instructors and even their peers, making the school an ideal option for social learners and students who value instant feedback on their questions or concerns.

Instructor Access

Whether enrolled in pre-licensing courses or the exam prep package, students in Colibri’s real estate license programs are typically assigned one instructor upon sign-up. This ensures they have the support they need when they need it. Additionally, the company offers 40 hours of instructor-led virtual Q&A sessions monthly that any student can check in to ask questions or interact with instructors.

Note Taking Integration

Colibri’s course pages feature a dedicated note-taking section where students can write important points or personal insights during lessons. An added advantage is that these notes can be reviewed and downloaded later. This enables students to easily revisit crucial course information leading to better course material retention and understanding.

Pass or Don’t Pay Guarantee

Colibri Real Estate offers a pass or don’t pay guarantee as part of its test prep course. Under this guarantee, students who fail the state licensing exam on their initial attempt within 30 days of completing the course are eligible for a refund. The guarantee applies to those who subscribe exclusively to the exam prep course, and learners who include the course in their pre-licensing real estate package.

Drawbacks of Colibri Real Estate School

While there’s much good to say about Colibri Real Estate School, the institution isn’t all perfect.

Here are some of the drawbacks we discovered during our research:

• Text-Heavy Courses: Although Colibiri does offer live streams and audio-based course summaries, these options are limited to particular states and packages. The institution’s real estate courses are primarily text-based, without visual aids or interactive elements which leads to monotony. Add in that they’re mainly self-paced and they can easily lead to cognitive overload, consequently hindering student information retention.
• Fixed Live Stream Schedule: Unfortunately Colibri live-stream lessons occur at the same time every week and, regrettably, aren’t recorded for future viewing. So, if you don’t tune in while the lesson is ongoing, you cannot leverage the benefits of live-stream learning.
• Basic features on low-tiers: While the real estate pre-licensing course covers all necessary topics, that’s all there is to it. To access advanced features such as printed learning materials, exam prep, audio-based summaries, and live streaming, students must either cash in to access additional features or upgrade to a premium-tier package.
• Limited Coverage: Despite being an excellent real estate school, Colibri’s courses are available in far fewer states compared to the coverage offered by its competitors.
• Not Cross-Platform: Colibri real estate learning materials are heavily text-based and, as a result, not very mobile-friendly. The institution even suggests that students use a desktop for a better experience. Additionally, they do not have a mobile app.
• Limited interaction opportunities: Colibri does offer a student-and-instructor discussion forum, but only a few students seem to participate, making networking difficult.

Colibri Real Estate Competitors & Alternatives

• AceableAgent
• Allied Real Estate School
• The CE Shop

AceableAgent vs. Colibri Real Estate

AceableAgent is a real estate school that offers both online and correspondence learning. Unlike Colibri Real Estate, AceableAgent is approved only in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.

Another difference between AceableAgent and Colibri Real Estate is that AceableAgent doesn’t offer an online course in every state where it’s approved. In Colorado and California, it offers a correspondence course instead. Like Colibri Real Estate, AceableAgent offers multiple-tier packages.

Prices appear to be higher at AceableAgent. As an example, in Pennsylvania, a basic package from Colibri Real Estate costs $209. The basic package at AceableAgenct costs $240. Just as with Colibri Real Estate, the price of courses will vary from state to state.

Allied Real Estate School vs. Colibri Real Estate

Allied Real Estate School is also under the Colibri Real Estate umbrella. It offers online and live-streaming packages for California and Texas. Interestingly, the pricing is not always aligned with Colibri Real Estate. For example, the Allied Real Estate School's basic pre-licensing package is $115.50, while Colibri Real Estate can get the ball rolling for just $77.40.

Similar to Colibri Real Estate, Allied Real Estate offers pre-licensing, continuing education, broker licensing, and mortgage licensing. Because it is a part of the same real estate education company, you can expect many of the courses and the online education offered to be similar to Colibri Real Estate.

The CE Shop vs. Colibri Real Estate

The CE Shop also offers mortgage as well as real estate education. This company appears to be approved to provide prelicensing courses in about 41 states plus Washington D.C. Pricing for required coursework in California starts at $96.75. With Colibri Real Estate, the cost of the basic package with $77.40.

The CE Shop offers customer service hours seven days a week, including a live chat. The company has an excellent reputation within the industry among real estate professionals and enjoys a great many favorable customer reviews as well as testimonials.

It is prized for its large variety of continuing education courses, student learning experience, and competitive pricing.

Colibri Real Estate FAQ

Colibri Real Estate offers accredited real estate pre-license and continuing education courses online that are approved for meeting the real estate pre-license education requirements in 40 states and Washington, D.C.

But there are many choices when it comes to real estate education. The following questions and answers can help you make an informed decision about Colibri Real Estate.

What Is The Cost To Take Colibri Real Estate?

The cost of Colibri Real Estate varies from state to state, just as the number of hours of education required also varies. In some areas, Colibri Real Estate offers both an online self-paced package as well as an online live-streaming package.

The basic package for those seeking to apply for their real estate license includes three real estate e-books meant to be used in conjunction with the class and in preparation for taking the state licensure exam. These e-books include Principles of Real Estate Practice, The Real Estate Math Handbook, and the Quick-Start Guide.

The basic package also includes coursework to cover the number of hours required by any given state as well as state-approved instructor support.

The price of the pre-licensure basic package varies widely, with prices ranging from $77.40 to $479.

In addition to pre-licensure coursework, Colibri Real Estate offers continuing education through its partner, McKissock Learning.

Does Colibri Real Estate Have An App?

Colibri Real Estate coursework is designed to be viewed on a browser. An app would not allow the same experience as a browser. However, courses may be accessed by any device with an internet connection and a browser.

Colibri Real Estate recommends that final exams and any quizzes be taken on a computer. If you must use an iPad, smartphone, or tablet, be sure you’ve downloaded the most recent version of Google Chrome. iPads should be running 11.0 or higher.

How Long Does Colibri Real Estate Take?

One of the biggest advantages of choosing an online school is that you can complete the coursework at your own pace. That means the length of time it takes you to qualify to move forward in getting your real estate license depends on the pace you set for yourself in learning the required material.

But your pace of learning is not the only factor entering into the equation. The number of credit hours of pre-licensing education varies from state to state.

While you will still be working at your own pace, you can expect it to take longer if your state requires a greater number of credit hours than average. State requirements range from 40 to over 200 credit hours, but most fall right about the 100-credit mark or slightly below that.

How Do You Extend Your Colibri Real Estate Course?

If you are nearing the original time limit for your course and do not have time to finish—or, even if your course just expired—Colibri Real Estate has some options for you in most cases.

You need to log into your account from the Colibri Real Estate dashboard. Then, locate the course you need to extend. Then, click on “view options,” and choose whether you want to start the course all over again or extend the course. The latter may allow you to choose among seven-day, 30-day, or 60-day options.

Once you return to the dashboard, your course expiration date will be updated.

Keep in mind, however, that not every state will allow you to extend your course time. In those cases, you will need to retake the course, which—not surprisingly—means paying again for the course.

Does Colibri Real Estate Have A Promo Code?

Yes, Colibri Real Estate does make use of limited-time promo codes periodically. The promotions can equate to considerable savings. For example, they ran a spring promo that took 40 percent off the cost of a course. These are advertised on the Colibri Real Estate platform.

The discount code will appear on the payment information screen. Simply enter the code and hit apply. This will allow the discounted amount to be reflected in your shopping cart Make sure the price discount is applied before entering your credit card information.

How Does The Money-Back Guarantee Work?

Also known as a pass guarantee, students looking to explore their comprehensive exam prep program, powered by CompuCram, or above, will receive a money-back guarantee to help ensure they pass their state’s licensing exam.

Those who do not pass on the first try are offered a refund which can be used to repeat the course.

How Is The Colibri Real Estate Customer Service?

Most reviews of Colibri Real Estate note that the customer service is courteous and easily accessible. Colibri Real Estate claims to have a 4.4 out of 5-star rating online. Unfavorable reviews are among the minority and mention issues like not feeling prepared for the quizzes and tests, but did not cite any issues with customer service.

The Colibri Real Estate website has three customer service numbers, depending on why you are contacting them. Enrollment specialists are available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (CST) Monday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (CST) on Saturday.

The customer service line is available from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. (CST) and from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. (CST) on Saturday. The third number can be used to send a text to customer service.

Final Thoughts: Is Colibri Real Estate Worth It?

According to our research and an assessment of the Colibri real estate reviews available online, Colibri is indeed a worthwhile choice for aspiring agents, and real estate professionals seeking to advance their careers.

Sure, it has its drawbacks, but with the features it offers, ranging from multiple course formats, instructor availability, and a pass-or-don’t-pay guarantee to comprehensive test prep programs like the exam crammer series, there’s no doubt that Colibri is committed to each learner’s success.

 

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*Disclosure: Real Estate Skills is not a law firm, and the information contained here does not constitute legal advice. You should consult with an attorney before making any legal conclusions. The information presented here is educational in nature. All investments involve risks, and the past performance of an investment, industry, sector, and/or market does not guarantee future returns or results. Investors are responsible for any investment decision they make. Such decisions should be based on an evaluation of their financial situation, investment objectives, risk tolerance, and liquidity needs.