Michigan Institute of Real Estate

Michigan Institute of Real Estate offers various real estate and professional courses for real estate professionals in different stages of their careers. It has courses online, through correspondence, and on campus. It’s easy to get in contact with the school and the website is easily navigable. However, it doesn’t have a mobile app, student resources, or any career placement resources. 

Pros Explained

• Easy to contact the school: You can email the school through a contact form, call them, or use the online chat button. This is convenient for quick questions. 
• Three class formats: You can choose the learning style that best works for you. There are live classes (both online and in-person), online self-paced classes, and a homes study offline class.
• Variety of professional courses: There are lots of courses to choose from to advance your real estate career or get into another field such as appraisal or home inspection. 

Cons Explained

• No licensing information: Most schools offer step-by-step licensing guides, but this one doesn’t, so you will need to contact the state real estate commission directly. 
• No mobile app: Not having a mobile app makes it more cumbersome to take the courses on the go. It’s recommended to take classes on a personal computer instead of a tablet or smartphone. 
• No student resources: The website doesn’t provide any webinars, blogs, career tips, or additional resources for students to access. Instead, you will have to seek outside sources for industry information. 

Available Courses

Michigan Institute of Real Estate offers pre-licensing real estate agent courses, pre-licensing courses for real estate brokers, exam prep, and continuing education classes. Pre-licensing courses are mandatory before obtaining your real estate license, and continuing education classes are required in order to renew your license and keep it in good standing. In addition to real estate classes, the school offers advanced training classes, such as appraisal, home inspection, builder, mortgage, and lead paint certification classes. 

Salesperson Pre-Licensing

Salesperson pre-licensing courses are offered in three different formats from the Michigan Institute of Real Estate. All of the pre-licensing courses meet the required 40 hours of educational hours needed to sit for the real estate licensing exam. The home study format, also known as correspondence, includes printed and recorded material. You receive exams in the mail, and then send them back to be graded. You can complete this program anytime. It comes in two packages. The Basic Package is $349 and includes the course, textbook, DVDs and CDs with course material, one coaching session, and a video cram course. The Premium Package is $449 and includes everything from the Basic Package plus a math DVD, real estate glossary flashcards, and 500+ practice questions. 

If you prefer to take the pre-licensing course online at your own pace, you can select a Basic Package for $295 which includes the course, audio narrated slides, mobile capability, a real estate cram course, a PDF book, and one coaching session. The Premier Package, sold for $395, includes everything from the Basic Package plus a textbook and 500 practice exam questions.

If you’re more of an in-class type of learner, you can choose from a virtual classroom or taking pre-licensing courses on campus. Courses are $355 if you pre-pay five or more days before class starts, or $365 if you don’t pre-pay. Classes are offered Monday through Friday and times vary, but there are daytime and evening classes available. Schedules are posted on the website. Students can re-attend any class within one year of graduation. Courses include one free coaching session, a cram course, and a live group tutoring webinar, as well as all course materials.      

Exam Prep

Exam prep is offered in some of the pre-licensing packages including the Premium Home Study Package, the Premium Online Package, and in all virtual classroom and on-campus courses. There are also exam prep courses and material that can be purchased separately. These are found under Study Tools on the website. The real estate power package is $249 and includes everything you need to prepare for the real estate exam. There are flashcards, real estate math sections, and 500 practice questions, in addition to CDs and DVDs with review material. 

The school offers a great selection of individual exam prep options as well. A few examples are exam prep kit for $149, videos on passing the exam for $65 to $75, key points audio course for $75, key points flash cards for $40, and much more.

Continuing Education

Michigan Institute of Real Estate offers continuing education classes for real estate salespeople, builders, mortgage professionals, and appraisers. Real estate continuing education classes are compliant with the state of Michigan educational requirements. Online classes start at $39.99, home study starts at $50, and virtual classrooms start at $50. There aren’t any in-person continuing education classes. Topics include code of ethics, state laws, court cases, and title insurance coverage. Each class is six hours long.

Other Courses

In addition to the standard pre-licensing, exam prep, and continuing education courses, Michigan Institute of Real Estate also offers appraisal, builder, home inspection, mortgage license, and lead paint certification classes. Advanced training courses are also offered and these include things like mortgage review, property management, investing, flipping properties, and foreclosures. 

They’re designed to help agents and brokers gain more information on a specialty topic. Prices vary and there is more information on the school’s website. For example, the mortgage review class is 20 hours long and costs $149. 

Course Format

Course formats at Michigan Institute of Real Estate include home study, online, and classroom. Home study courses can be completed at your own pace and include a textbook, DVDs, and CDs. Online courses are also self-paced and include digital materials, need to be accessed from a computer, and are available immediately after purchasing. Classroom courses can be taken on campus at one of the three locations or from a virtual classroom. Schedules including times and dates are available on the website. Day and evening courses are available. 

All pre-licensing courses meet the required 40 hours of educational hours required by the state. Chapter reviews, commonly used real estate terms and definitions, math pertaining to real estate, and local laws are all covered in pre-licensing classes. 

Instructors

The instructors at Michigan Institute of Real Estate are all industry professionals with 10 or more years of experience in their respective fields, as well as teaching experience. If you take an on-campus course, you will have access to instructor support and will receive their contact information and availability. The school’s website doesn’t have bios for their instructors but several instructors are mentioned in a positive manner in the reviews.  

Reputation

Michigan Institute of Real Estate has a positive reputation as a dependable, long-standing school in Michigan. It’s a popular choice among those who want to pursue a real estate career in the state. Third-party sites including Trustpilot and the school’s website have excellent reviews from previous students citing knowledgeable teachers, good course selection, and material that is presented in an easy-to-understand manner. However, keep in mind that the school isn’t accredited by ARELLO or IDECC. This means that the school didn’t meet either of the institutions’ strict accreditation criteria. 

Price

Online pre-licensing course packages start at $295 for aspiring Michigan real estate agents. These are priced on the higher end when compared with other schools offering the same classes. Exam prep material and courses range from $30 to $249. Continuing education classes range from $39.99 to $50 per three-hour class. Advanced training courses range from $149 to $4,997. 

Customer Service

You can reach customer service at Michigan Institute of Real Estate on their website www.myrealestateschool.com by using an online contact form to email them. There is also an online chat feature and even a fax number available. You can also reach them by phone at 1-800-861-7325 from Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST; they are closed on weekends and holidays.

Competition: Michigan Institute of Real Estate vs. Kaplan

Kaplan teaches real estate classes online in primarily two formats, livestream and self-paced, but doesn’t have any physical campus locations. In specific situations other formats may be offered. Its classes are priced competitively, it has positive former student reviews, and offers classes in all 50 states. 

We compared Kaplan with Michigan Institute of Real Estate because both schools offer pre-license, exam prep, and continuing education classes online in the state of Michigan. However, Kaplan is our recommended choice because it offers multiple types of classes in all 50 states, is less expensive, and has abundant student and career resources.

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Our Methodology: How We Review Real Estate Schools

We researched and analyzed numerous facets of each real estate school with a quantitative approach in mind. Some of the elements considered include costs of the classes, course formats, accreditation, and former student reviews. We also look at the overall reputation of the provider, geographic areas where the courses are available, and instructor qualifications. Additionally, we assess how easy it is to navigate the website and whether it includes additional student resources such as blogs, webinars, and career tips.