Real Estate School of Illinois for Broker Prelicense Coursework

[Sam Burnoski]

Hello,

I am looking to obtain my Illinois broker's license and was wondering if anyone has done the online pre-licensing courses (75 and 15 hour) through the Real Estate School of Illinois.

I am going to be taking online courses and their prices seem reasonable. If anyone could share their experience with this company it would be a huge help.

Thanks!

[Brandon Johnson]

Sam Burnoski I just did mine through Illinois Realtors online. It was a bit more expensive at just over $500 for 90 hours (75&15). Was structured well and the practice test/quizzes within the material are useful. Passed the licensure exam with no problem.

[Account Closed]

@Sam Burnoski I used the Real Estate School of Illinois and had no issues with them.  The courses were sufficient and I would use them again (good price and responsive with any issues).

[Sam Burnoski]

Awesome Michael Murawczyk thank you for the feedback. Probably will be getting started in the next couple days.

Brandon Johnson thank you for your reply as well. Any info is helpful.

[Account Closed]

@Sam Burnoski Happy to answer any questions since I just got my license in IL to help with investing.  

[Sam Burnoski]

Michael Murawczyk congrats. Have you gotten a sponsoring company to hang your license with yet? Or do you have any recommendations?

I'm looking for a place with a high commission split. Maybe even 100% commission if there are reasonable fees since I'm really only going to be using my license for my own investments.

If anyone else has recommendations, they would be much appreciated as well.

Thanks!

[Account Closed]

I am using American Realty Network.  My primary factors in making the decision were convenience and fees.

[John Covi Jr]

Hi

@Sam Burnoski Did you get started on the coarse and did you go with the one you mentioned, RE School of IL? I too am just about to dive in and try to get my license. I see currently they offer the 90 hour class for 399. I have not found it at a better price anywhere else yet so I was leaning towards this one unless you maybe stumbled upon a better source to recommend. Thanks Sam

[Sam Burnoski]

John Covi Jr I just purchased the 90 hr ($399) package last night. So far so good after one night haha

Looks like all the info you need is there. Seems pretty straightforward. I'll report back if I run into any issues.

[John Covi Jr]

Great thank you Sam. I am looking to start on Sunday. Keep in touch and goodluck on the coarse!!

[John Covi Jr]

@Sam Burnoski

Hey Sam, was on here today reading up on things and figured i would check in. How is the class going? Are you in the 75 hour pre coarse or moved on to the last 15 hour course? Just curious. I am on Unit 16 of 23 of the 75hr pre license coarse so i am getting towards the end slowly but surely. Have you talked to anyone with advice on the test? i keep hearing a program ExamSmart keep coming up. Just wondering how you have decided to study and prepare for the final? Hope all is well

[Sam Burnoski]

@John Covy Jr.
I just recently finished all the chapters in the 75 hr course. Ran into very few issues with the info except a few typos here and there and sentences that just seemed to end in the middle occasionally. All in all I'd say it was a good experience.

After you finish all the chapters you submit a form then they send you a "final exam" for the 75 hr portion that you have to get a 75% or higher on to move to the next 15 hour portion if you signed up for that, too.

One minor issue I had-
I have called the office twice, once so I could see if I could be sent my exam ahead of schedule (they say it'll take a business day) because I am on a time crunch to finish; And once for info about the 15 hr portion. Neither time went very well. I was told the service person couldn't help and I may get the exam the same day I called but no promises, which is fine, but I actually wound up getting the exam emailed to me later than 1 business day and wasn't given any info about the 15 hr session other than (in the same email with the test), "you will receive info about the 15 hr portion after you complete the exam."
Not a big deal really, but if I had to nit pick, I'd say that was a little frustrating. Especially since I, like others, need to be able to plan this in advance around a work schedule.

But for the low price, I am happy with it. Seems like all the info is there which is the important part.

As far as further practice for the real exam, I have heard people had success after taking a bunch of practice exams and familiarizing themselves with the question types. I'll have to look into ExamSmart. My buddy told me about another site he used for practice tests that worked well for him. I'll ask him about it again and report back. I also have messed around on YouTube and found there are some interesting exam prep videos on there if you search stuff like "Illinois Real Estate Exam Questions."

I will keep you posted on how the rest of the course goes and what other exam prep I end up using.

Sorry for the long-winded response. I figure some of this could be useful info for others as well.

Thanks for the note!

[John Covi Jr]

Not long winded at all i really appreciate the response. that is exactly what i was wondering as well was what the 15 hour requirement entailed. I wasnt sure if it was online as well or if I had to meet somewhere for it. Well, we shall soon find out...I agree that it hasnt been bad aside from the typos, and yes the sentences that would stop or go off on tangents was a little odd but nothing too crazy

one last question if you dont mind, when i go to view test scores i see 100% next to all the units I have completed however the Introduction unit at the very top still shows 0%...I registered at AMP as Broker Candidate like it asks. I think I did that correctly. Was there anything I missed or does this Introduction just always show 0% since there is no actual quiz. Thanks for your time Sam, and best of luck on the 75hr Final

[Nate Shields]

Great to hear things are progressing Sam Burnoski !

[Sam Burnoski]

Yeah mine said I had a 0% for the intro section, too. It also says I got an 83% on the unit 23 quiz when the physical quiz shows I have all the answers right. Must just be glitches.

I passed the test today and emailed them. Now we wait... hah
hopefully by end of tomorrow they will send me info about the next portion. I know the 15 hr portion just has to be "interactive" whether online or not. So I'm thinking it will be online, whether it's a webinar (or multiple webinars) you have to check in to at a certain time or if you can do it on your own time- I do not know.
But I'll post on here as soon as I find out.

And thanks Nate Shields

It's coming along! glad to be done with the longest part

[John Covi Jr]

Ok cool glad i didnt miss anything. Sounds great, will be looking forward to hear back on the 15 hour portion and great job passing the final!! Also thank you for the recommendation on the exam prep help with the youtube and IL RE exam questions I will look into those today. 

[Sam Burnoski]

So I requested the 15 hr class get sent over to me on Monday of last week, was told I would get it later in the week.
I received a link to start the class Friday night at like 8 pm haha

The good news is it was really quick and easy and I was able to finish it over the weekend.

[Sam Burnoski]

(Cont. from previous post...)
It's 6 units, all audio sections then open response quizzes about case scenarios and their implications. It's all review of what you learn in the 75 hr portion.

Now I have to email them and have them send me another final exam for this section. Then if I pass that, I should be all done with my course work and ready to take the real exam!

More updates to come.

[John Covi Jr]

Thanks for the update Sam. I finish my last unit tonight and will send them the email for my Final for the 75 hour class and then on to the 15hr portion

[Sam Burnoski]

Hello again.

A few days after my last post I was sent the final I had mentioned and passed it. After that I emailed the company to tell them I had passed and shortly after, they mailed my transcript to me showing that I had finished the course. That all was pretty straightforward.

Then I searched all around for how to prepare for the exam.

For free, I was only able to find bits and pieces of practice tests in different places around the internet, most of which I noticed had old information. I even picked up a practice test booklet from the library where I work (I work at a college), but it was from 2010. Basically, I couldn't find any substantial studying sources that were free.

I wound up paying $50 for ExamSmart and decided to go all in with that. I did practice tests over and over and went through most of the questions in every section that they have available.

I then took the real exam 3 days ago and passed. I would say, in regards to the ExamSmart questions, maybe a third of the Qs in the exam were very similar to the Qs asked in ExamSmart, about half the Qs on the exam covered similar topics that were addressed by the ExamSmart Qs, and the remaining percent (16.66%?) were not covered by ExamSmart- I remembered most of these from the coursework though, and there were only a few Qs where I just had no idea.

Also, the exam center's printer was broken, so we were not able to see our results right away like normal. That didn't make much sense to me, but anyway...

So the results were mailed to us and I just got them today.

Now on to the next thing- seeking a managing broker

[John Covi Jr]

Nice job Sam!!! 

I also bought examsmart a couple weeks ago and just been studying like crazy. I'm getting  90% on the practice exams they have so I feel ready. I still need to do my 15 hour section then on to state test. 

Was great to hear you passed! Keep us updated. Goodluck on next step in the process

[John Covi Jr]

@Sam Burnoski

Hi Sam, How is it going? Any luck on finding a managing broker that you fits well with you?

I would like to bounce a couple questions off of you if you dont mind, regarding the 15 hour portion...you are right, the details when they send to you are slim to none haha.

First question is....was there a book or anything needed for this portion?

Most important question i have....It tells me this is an interactive coarse and can only be done Mon-Fri 9 to 5 and Saturdays 9-3...Does that apply to the online portion that I will be doing? Or is that mis leading and I can log on and do this portion at my own pace just like with the 75 hour class.

I work full time so Mon-Fri is out for me so I will have to do Saturdays which is fine if that is how it is. But is there a specific amount of time I need to alot for each section? I have a wedding to attend Saturday and didnt want to start at 9 and not attend the class for the time scheduled if it ran into the wedding time.

Sorry for the long post just wanted to see if I could get some clarification on it since you went through it. I would appreciate the insight. 

Thanks Sam

[Sam Burnoski]

John Covi Jr I am happy to help as I had some of the same questions.

1. There is no book with the 15 hr section. It's only case studies. You read a scenario, you take a short quiz about it, then the instructor (a recording, not live) walks through the scenario and all the questions.

2. It says you can only complete it during the day (the times you referenced), but I found that you can work on the lessons outside of those hours. I never logged out and I was able to complete the sessions over a weekend. I think I spent 4-5 hours on a Friday, a few hours on Saturday, then a couple hours on Sunday then I was done. It was very quick.

You will have no problem getting through this portion after the 75 hr part.

Also I wound up going with Kale Realty. They are 100% commission and had low fees compared to the others I looked up. The icing on the cake, though, is that they do actually provide a ton of support for their brokers as well. During my onboarding I told them I was surprised about how much they offer their brokers in support, and they very transparently said that there was no reason not to. They don't want people to leave disgruntled because then they lose the money that they pay in fees, and if they offer support, their brokers are less likely to mess up and cause legal issues.
It just makes sense for their business model to work.
They have support people dedicated to transactions, investing, marketing and more available to you everyday whenever you need them.

There isn't a ton of lead generation help, there is some, and I'm sure if you asked for it they would help you more, but if you join a 100% commission brokerage, you're not really looking for that. So this isn't a problem for me as I am mainly an investor.

I feel like I'm making them sound too good to be true haha but I am not benefiting from telling you this

I would recommend them, but do some research! Maybe you'll find an even better fit.

[John Covi Jr]

@Sam Burnoski

Thank you very much for the helpful insight Sam I appreciate it! Congrats on finding your fit. I didnt ever feel like you were selling me on anything haha. I am pleased to see that you found one that fits you the best and I will have to take a look into them myself...That is great to hear that this portion is not only for the times the email had stated and more of the self paced. Thanks so much for giving me advice throughout this process you were really helpful. If your investing career leads you to visit the Springfield IL area lunch is on me!!

[Account Closed]

@Sam Burnoski  I'm glad I came across this thread because I'm currently thinking about getting a brokers license and I like how you posted updates of your progress. How is everything going so far?

[Michael Plante]

Originally posted by @Sam Burnoski:

John Covi Jr I am happy to help as I had some of the same questions.

1. There is no book with the 15 hr section. It's only case studies. You read a scenario, you take a short quiz about it, then the instructor (a recording, not live) walks through the scenario and all the questions.

2. It says you can only complete it during the day (the times you referenced), but I found that you can work on the lessons outside of those hours. I never logged out and I was able to complete the sessions over a weekend. I think I spent 4-5 hours on a Friday, a few hours on Saturday, then a couple hours on Sunday then I was done. It was very quick.

You will have no problem getting through this portion after the 75 hr part.

Also I wound up going with Kale Realty. They are 100% commission and had low fees compared to the others I looked up. The icing on the cake, though, is that they do actually provide a ton of support for their brokers as well. During my onboarding I told them I was surprised about how much they offer their brokers in support, and they very transparently said that there was no reason not to. They don't want people to leave disgruntled because then they lose the money that they pay in fees, and if they offer support, their brokers are less likely to mess up and cause legal issues.
It just makes sense for their business model to work.
They have support people dedicated to transactions, investing, marketing and more available to you everyday whenever you need them.

There isn't a ton of lead generation help, there is some, and I'm sure if you asked for it they would help you more, but if you join a 100% commission brokerage, you're not really looking for that. So this isn't a problem for me as I am mainly an investor.

I feel like I'm making them sound too good to be true haha but I am not benefiting from telling you this

I would recommend them, but do some research! Maybe you'll find an even better fit.

 I’m curious why you decided to get your brokers license as opposed to an agent license if you are just using it for your own investments?