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Colibri Real Estate Review
Determine whether Colibri is the right online real estate school for you in this detailed review
If you’ve made the decision to get your real estate license, you are likely confused as to which pre-licensing course you should choose. After all, there are dozens and dozens of real estate schools in each state. In this article, we analyze and evaluate the pre-licensing and exam prep materials from Colibri, which is arguably one of the most popular online real estate schools in the United States. We discuss pricing, pros, cons, and whether our team thinks Colibri is worth the price tag.
Given that this is a lengthy, detailed review, we’ve included jump-to links above for your convenience.
Video Review: Is Colibri Real Estate Good?
In the video above, John from the Test Prep Insight team covers the major pros and cons of the pre-licensing courses and exam prep materials from Colibri (formerly Real Estate Express). For more detail, be sure to continue reading our full written review below.
Colibri Real Estate Cost & Course Options
Colibri Real Estate offers post-license and continuing education courses; however, in this review, we are going to primarily focus on their pre-licensing courses and exam prep materials.
Luckily, Colibri offers pre-licensing courses for over 40 states. The company pretty much covers the entire map, whereas competitors like AceableAgent for example, only offers courses for 14 states.
Colibri Real Estate covers more than 40 different states
Further, Colibri offers several different options for consumers to choose from across various price points. That way you can pick the exact course that fits your needs and budget.
The company typically offers two to four different self-paced options for each state:
Basics: includes only the pre-license course
Exam Preparation: adds exam prep materials in addition to the pre-license course
Exam Prep Plus: also includes live webinars and Q&A with instructors
Ultimate Learning: everything listed above plus career success tools
In some states, the company also offers livestream courses as well, which we will discuss in more detail later in this review.
Example packages from Colibri
Luckily, all of the company’s courses are reasonably priced. For example, Colibri’s Exam Prep Plus package for California costs around $370, whereas the comparable package from Kaplan for California is priced a little higher at around $400.
Now obviously, the cost varies by state and the number of pre-licensing course hours required, but for the most part, I’d say the courses from Colibri are definitely near the more affordable end of the industry.
Plus, it’s worth mentioning that Colibri regularly offers sales and special promotions so be sure to check for coupon codes before buying. I usually see their packages discounted anywhere from 15 to 25% off.
What Our Team Likes About Colibri Real Estate
Instead of wasting your time running down a list of study materials and features that you likely are aware of already, we are instead going to focus on the what our team views as the biggest pros AND cons of the Colibri Real Estate courses after testing them out.
Ultimately, we think that is going be more helpful for you to determine whether Colibri is the right online real estate school for you and your learning style.
Live Class Options
Our team absolutely loves that Colibri offers live class options. Again, to be clear, the company does not offer live classes for all states; however, for a lot of the states they do (like California, Georgia, and Michigan for example, just to name a few).
This is quite unique in the industry. Two of Colibri’s competitors for example, The CE Shop and AceableAgent do not offer any sort of live class options for their students.
Our team loves the live classes from Colibri
Plus, I have to say the classes I audited were flat out awesome. The instructors are all local experts, they have great energy, and they have a knack for making the learning process fun and enjoyable. The classes are typically offered two days per week, and fulfill all of your states pre-licensing requirements.
Bottom line, if you’re the type of person who either needs a set live class schedule in order to hold yourself accountable, and stay on track, or you just prefer learning via live instruction so you can ask questions in the momentand interact with your peers, then Colibri is an excellent option.
Access To Instructors
If you sign up for one of Colibri’s Exam Preparation Plus courses, which is our team’s recommendation, we like that you get access to instructors throughout your pre-licensing and exam prep process so you can ask as many questions as you’d like and get advice.
This is actually one my biggest gripes with some of Colibri’s competitors. Anyways, there are two different ways to interact with Colibri’s instructors. First, the company offers 40 hours of live Q&A per month that you can attend and get your questions answered.
Then, after you complete your pre-licensing education, Colibri offers what they call their Exam Crammer series, which consists of six hyper-focused webinars to help you prep and hopefully ace your exam on the first try.
Overall, we just think it’s great how much access Colibri gives its students to its network of expert instructors. The level of support is pretty amazing.
Easy To Take Notes
Being able to easily take notes is another gripe that I have with other online real estate schools, but luckily not Colibri. And that’s due to the fact that you can take notes directly within the Colibri learning platform during lessons.
Super easy to take notes within Colibri lessons
Plus, the cool thing is that you can review and download these notes whenever you want and Colibri tracks the exact chapterand page in which you took the notes. It’s a lifesaver, trust me. It’s way better than taking notes in a separate word document or physical notebook like you have to do with some other online real estate schools like AceableAgent, for example.
Pass Guarantee
Colibri offers a “Pass Or Don’t Pay Guarantee” for the majority of their packages. Essentially if you purchase one of the company’s courses, and you don’t pass your state’s licensing exam on your first try within 30 days of completing the course, the company will refund your money.
A lot of online real estate schools, like Real Estate U for example, don’t offer this type of guarantee so we thought we’d mention it.
What Our Team Does NOT Like About Colibri Real Estate
Now that we’ve discussed the major pros of the Colibri pre-licensing courses, let’s flip the script, and discuss the cons. That way you have a fair, balanced view to make a decision.
Boring Lesson Format
Unfortunately, Colibri’s content (i.e. their actual lessons) just aren’t that engaging. Their instruction is primarily text-based.
In fact, I’d estimate their lessons are about 90 to 95 percent text overall, which means you’ll be doing a lot of reading.
The Colibri lessons are somewhat boring
Maybe you’re a big reader, which is great; however, if you’re more of a visual learner, then maybe The CE Shop would be a better fit with their animated videos. Alternatively, if you’re an auditory learner, then AceableAgent with their narrated, podcast style lessons may be more ideal.
Also, Colibri does not offer a mobile app, and even their mobile experience on smartphones and tablets isn’t that great. This is definitely more of a desktop based course.
Even Colibri themselves recommends you use a computer for a “better course experience”, so needless to say, if you’re a busy person and plan to complete lessons and study while you’re on-the-go, then Colibri is likely not be the best option.
If you do fall into that category, AceableAgent offers a dynamite mobile app that you may want to check out.
Verdict: Is Colibri Real Estate Worth It?
Let’s address the elephant in the room – are the pre-licensing courses and exam prep materials from Colibri Real Estate worth it?
Well, after using and reviewing the company’s courses and study materials, we think the answer depends on a couple different key factors.
If you want or need live classes, then yes absolutely, go with Colibri. Their live classes are awesome. Or, if you’re not the self-studier type and you want access to expert instructors for help and guidance, then Colibri is an excellent option as well. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that their courses are reasonably priced.
However, if you just want a self-paced course to complete on your own time and schedule, and you consider yourself more of a visual or auditory learner, then there may be better options out there for you.
Yes, the courses from Colibri are approved by the department of real estate in each state they operate. The company also has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.
Is Colibri Real Estate accredited?
Yes, the courses from Colibri Real Estate are accredited by ARELLO and IDECC, which are considered the leader in real estate license online education and training.
Is Colibri Real Estate good?
Yes, the real estate courses from Colibri are very good. They are extremely effective for meeting state requirements and preparing you to take state licensure exams.
