I often get phone calls from people who are trying to get their Florida real estate sales associate license asking whether it is better to take the class online or live in a classroom. Here’s my answer: if you have a good instructor, the classroom version is better. If you have a bad instructor, and are going to end up teaching yourself anyway, you’d be better off with the online version.
There are two reasons I prefer classroom to online. First, the classroom version has a structured time. You start at 8am because the instructor says it starts at 8am. Frequently, I talk to people who went the online route because they could do it for a few hours after work each day. They want the flexibility. Six months later, they are still trying to find the time to finish the class. If you plan to do the online class when you have time, you will never have time. You have to make the time. The classroom version of the class solves that problem for you.
The flexibility of online classes can be a great benefit or the reason you never finish.
The second reason and more important reason that I prefer the live class is that a good instructor will tell you what is important. In any class, there are things that are more important than others. For example, in driving it is more important to know how to operate the brake pedal than it is to know how to parallel park. An online course that consists of a series of slides may not be able to emphasize that the same way a live person can. When studying for the real estate exam, there are certain aspects that I would bet a thousand dollars would be on the state exam. Other areas of the law are pretty unlikely to be on the exam. I can tell my students that. An online series of slides doesn’t always convey what is important and what is not so important.
I can also be more relevant than an online class. It’s easy for me to adjust my class to say, “This came up in the FREC meeting last week…” or “A student who passed the exam Saturday told me this…” An online class is updated every two years as required by law, but they aren’t going to update it more frequently unless a law changes.
So, if you call and ask me if you should take an online class or a live class, I’m going to always recommend the live class with a good instructor. If you are looking for a class like that, give me a call and I’ll be happy to tell you what my teaching schedule is.
Please note that neither I, nor anyone in the Climer family, have any affiliation with Climer School of Real Estate. My father, Ron Climer, sold Climer School of Real Estate in 2014. You can find me at Demetree School of Real Estate.