10 Best Online Schools for Bachelor’s in Real Estate

What you are going to learn throughout this program depends on your choice of a real estate program and on your goals.

There are students who take a major in Finance or Business Administration with a concentration in Real Estate, while there are those who take a full-time undergraduate degree.

It is good to know that students with a previous degree should take a second degree fully dedicated to real estate.

On the other hand, those without prior degrees going for a concentration may work best.

What you need to do is to accomplish all the requirements before enrolment, and they vary from school to school.

Some schools require that you have at least a high school diploma or GED  while other schools will require a minimum GPA score of 2.0 with 18 to 30 credit hours of the prior learning experience.

Students with previous learning credits get a chance to apply for an accelerated learning program which means that they will cut down the learning period.

Veterans and military personnel may benefit from programs such as the GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon in selected institutions.

You will need to dedicate yourself to learning, being that education requires persistence and commitment if you want to earn a degree.

If a real estate program part-time or full-time is your choice, here we offer you some typical coursework.

• Real Estate Principles – covers the disciplines of real estate properties, jargon, and management and this class is created so as equip you with all the knowledge will need before going for state licensure.
• Real Estate Law –  a course that will introduce you to the legalities involved with real estate transactions, such as contracts, regulations, and wills. You will also learn about ownership, inheritance laws, property investment, and purchase sales.
• Appraisal – obligatory for those planning to become assessors, because it offers two sections to this class: residential and investment property. You will learn the market value of features, including the political, social, and economic impact.
• Finance –  the course during which you will be taught to assess and evaluate investments in terms of mortgages, loans, purchase costs, valuing a property, and foreclosure.
• Estate Management – a capstone course for most real estate programs as it focuses on property management covering topics on marketing, property maintenance, and community management which all require the critical skill of decision-making.

Most real estate degrees have 120-credit hour coursework and it takes from two to four years to be accomplished.

However, how much time you will need to finish the studies generally depends on the type of degree you are pursuing and your learning pace.

If you choose an accelerated program, you will take the courses in five- or eight-week intervals throughout the year.

General education courses are usually credited with 60 hours.

After you finish your studies, you will become a real estate professional, but you need to have in mind that real estate agents, brokers, appraisers, and property managers need to be licensed to practice their profession.

You should have in mind that licensing requirements differ from state to state, but still, there are some basic prerequisites:

• You need to be at least 18 years old, which also varies with the state
• You must be residing in the U.S and be a U.S citizen
• You must possess a pre-license education such as an associate’s degree or undergraduate degree, but still, there are some states that only require specific training and certifications.

The pre-licensing phase requires that you take a particular course as part of the certification process, and it is very important that the schools where you decided to take these pre-licensing courses are accredited and meet all requirements mandated by law.

A post-course exam may be required and its aim is to validate whether or not you will proceed with the licensure exam.

After the real estate licensure exam, a post-licensing exam may also be required and this is the exam for your first license renewal.

You will encounter a class or series of classes that will lead you to become a fully licensed real estate professional.

This continuing education requires that you attend and learn through numerous accredited courses that have to be finished within a specified period and during which you earn credits to continue practicing your profession.

The requirement will also vary from state to state.

For real estate agents, certifications may include the following:

• A Graduate Realtor Institute (GRI) certification takes 60 to 90 hours dealing with law and regulations, technology, and deeper insights into the sales process.
• Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR) certification is for agents who sold at least five residential properties as a representative to the buyer. These courses are usually given online and can be accomplished within 36 months.
• Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource (SFR) certification is a nine-hour training to help you qualify sellers for this type of transaction, create a short sale package, learn negotiating skills, and mitigating risks between you and the buyer.
• A Residential Management Professional (RMP) certification requires the pre-requisite, meaning that you need to have at least 100 units managed for the last two years along with your real estate broker license.
• A Certified Residential Appraiser (CRA) certification allows you to evaluate a maximum of four properties regardless of value or complexity. It also requires an undergraduate degree with 200-credit hours taken with other supplementary courses. You will be required to undergo an AQB-approved examination, as well as complete hours in education and experience to be certified.

As a real estate professional, you will have a range of careers to look into after getting licensed and certified and here are a few examples:

Building Control Surveyor – his/her task is to ensure that regulations are implemented throughout the project and you will have to participate during the pre-application stage where you provide insights on minimizing delays and risk reduction. Having some background into accounting, law or finance will be considered a useful advantage for this job.

Rural Practice Surveyor – ideal job for those who do not want to work in the city. Their task is to evaluate rural and agricultural properties which may include managing estate staff, find other uses for the property assessed, provide consultations as to grants, farming subsidiaries, and environmental implications, and advise on developing landscapes to name a few. Knowledge and experience in law, land and estate management and economics would be useful.

Commercial/Residential Surveyor –  his/her job is to look into the management, leasing of land or property, valuation and surveying residential and commercial properties so you can be an auctioneer, an agent, and a broker. Some surveyors do negotiations between tenants and landlords or are asked to manage property portfolios. People who do this jo earn around $62,580 per year.

Chartered Loss Adjuster – a great choice for individuals with a background in finance. This is a person who resolves issues on insurance claims and his/her job is to determine whether or not an insurance policy covers the property involved. You can choose from these six niches: property, business interruption, liability, claimant, subsidence, and fraud investigation.

Facilities Manager – a person who does numerous tasks, such as overseeing the safety of the environment for employees, implement best practices and planning day-to-day operations throughout the project, as well as coordination of contractors, efficient use of monetary resources that maximize returns and minimize losses. He/she will need to strategize future objectives for the business and manage contractors in ensuring the project is accomplished according to schedule.

You should be aware of the fact that some companies will require relevant work experience to qualify for the job and there are numerous employment opportunities are available for real estate professionals among the following employers:

• Global property firms
• Medium-sized enterprises and consultancies
• Housing associations
• Smaller firms for rural development

Graduates very frequently decide to pursue a postgraduate course to enhance their skills and knowledge, so they enroll in programs related to finance, banking or accounting may be ideal.

It is worth mentioning that training such as landscape architecture or taking a short course in law may also boost your opportunity for getting senior positions.