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Bob Hogue School of Real Estate is not one of our top-rated real estate schools. You can review our list of the best online real estate schools for what we think are better options.
Bob Hogue School of Real Estate provides self-paced and livestream real estate classes to current and aspiring real estate agents and brokers in Florida. It focuses on providing quality real estate instruction to prepare students to pass the exam and best serve their clients throughout their career. Customer service agents are available during business hours during the week. Once you sign up for a course, you will be able to contact your instructor over the phone and through email.
Post-licensing courses are required prior to renewing your license for the first time. Continuing education classes are required for future license renewals.
Pros Explained
- State exam information on site: You can schedule your exam and make a fingerprint appointment from links on the site. These links are well laid out and will answer your Florida state licensing questions around testing centers and required forms, etc.
- Additional classes besides real estate licensing: If you like the convenience of taking all your classes from one school, you can take advantage of some other courses including one on becoming a community association manager or one on accelerating your real estate agent career.
- Online bookstore: You can conveniently order a real estate textbook from the online bookstore and have it shipped to you. There are numerous titles for both novice and experienced real estate professionals.
Cons Explained
- Outdated website: The website is lacking the functionality and aesthetics that other school sites offer. It is very basic and doesn’t provide many student resources or other pertinent information like career information or professor bios.
- Classes only in one state: Classes are only taught in Florida, so this school isn’t right for someone who wants to be licensed or work in real estate in other regions.
- No weekend availability: Phones are only answered during the week, so you won’t get an immediate answer if you have a question on the weekend. There is also no live chat.
Available Courses
Bob Hogue School of Real Estate offers a variety of real estate courses including pre-licensing classes for real estate agents in Florida as well as pre-licensing broker classes, exam prep, continuing education classes, and post-licensing courses. It also has a slew of other courses available including real estate instructor, community association manager, and home inspector courses. An additional course is offered to recently licensed real estate agents to help them accelerate their career and learn more about the industry than what they were taught in their mandatory pre-licensing courses.
Additionally, there is a course to reinstate your license if it was inactive for up to 24 months. And if you’re already licensed in another state that has mutual recognition with Florida, the school offers a course to get your Florida license, which is less time-consuming than the traditional pre-licensing courses. Make sure to check with the state to make sure you’re eligible prior to enrolling.
Mutual recognition states include: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, and Rhode Island.
Salesperson Pre-Licensing
In some states, including Florida, real estate agents are referred to as real estate salespeople. Pre-licensing courses are offered to prospective real estate agents, and Bob Hogue School of Real Estate offers these courses in two online formats. All courses meet Florida’s mandated real estate education hours for licensing. Pre-licensing classes contain 63 hours of coursework, are offered in English and Spanish, and include interactive study group access. After you purchase the self-paced course, you can begin immediately. For the live-online classes, there is a schedule beside each class on the website.
Self-paced classes come in two packages, which are available for six months from the date of purchase. The Basic Course Package is $245 and includes the course, interactive study group, and instructor support. The Career Builder Package is $495 and includes everything from the Basic Course Package plus a bank of test questions, audiobook reviews, and an accelerator course, which teaches students about marketing themselves as real estate agents, business plans, and income plans. The hard copy textbook is optional and not included with either package. It can be purchased separately for $41 plus tax from the online book store.
There are also two packages for the live-online pre-licensing classes which are instructor-led. Information is presented in an interactive virtual environment. The Basic Course Package is $295 and includes the 63-hour course, instructor support, interactive study group access, and a PDF version of the textbook. The physical textbook is available for just the cost of shipping. The Career Builder Package is $545 and also includes a live state exam prep course, question bank, audio review, and an accelerator course.
Note
All pre-licensing courses include instructor support through email and over the phone. Instructors will give you their contact information and are typically available from Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST.
Exam Prep
Bob Hogue School of Real Estate offers exam prep courses as part of the live-online Career Builder Package. Exam prep is also offered as a separate course with two formats: self-paced for $49 and instructor-led for $75. You can choose which class format best suits your learning style. All materials are included, but if you need extra practice in an area such as real estate math, supplemental materials can be purchased online.
Exam prep courses include topics such as Florida real estate license law, general real estate law, math problems, and real estate principles and practice. There are practice questions and customizable quizzes. The course is designed as a cram course to boost your confidence before taking the Florida real estate licensee exam. The school’s website includes information on the licensing process, frequently asked questions after taking the exam pre-course, and information on passing the state exam.
Continuing Education
Bob Hogue School of Real Estate provides continuing education classes designed to renew and maintain your real estate salesperson and real estate broker license in Florida. You can choose a package that includes 14 hours of continuing education or stand-alone courses.
There are three packages, each including 14 hours of continuing education classes with the following topics: Core Law, Ethics, and an eight-hour specialty class requirement. You can choose the format of the package from self-paced online for $19.95, open-book correspondence for $19.95, or instructor-led for $75. The open-book correspondence class is mailed to you and you can email, fax, or mail back your answer sheet. It’s for people who would prefer not to take the class online, and instead use a textbook.
The school does not offer a lot of topics and instead only offers two stand-alone continuing education classes: Core Law and Ethics. Each class is for three hours, self-paced online, and costs $14.95.
Other Courses
In addition to the standard pre-licensing, exam prep, and continuing education courses, Bob Hogue School of Real Estate also offers several professional courses. Additional courses include:
- Real estate instructor course
- Community association manager course
- Accelerator course for real estate agents
- Course to activate your license
- Course for licensees in mutual recognition states
Course formats and costs vary, and you can contact the school directly for more information or find it on their website.
Course Format
All courses are offered with multiple learning styles in mind, so you can choose to take a course at your own pace at your home or office. These courses can be started immediately upon purchasing and are available 24/7.
If you prefer a more interactive approach, then choose an instructor-led live class. Schedules vary by class and are listed on the website. An instructor will teach the material in an engaging manner, and you will be expected to attend the scheduled class dates and times.
Pre-licensing courses include an introduction to the material, taxes, legal descriptions, and real estate contracts. You will also learn about real estate market analyses, appraisals, and zoning laws.
All courses require an internet connection and are designed to be taken on a personal computer. Although parts of courses may work on a mobile device or tablet, they aren’t recommended.
Instructors
All of Bob Hogue School of Real Estate’s instructors have years of field expertise in the subject they’re teaching as well as teaching experience. Many instructors are bilingual and are currently working in the Florida real estate market in different capacities, including as property managers, real estate brokers, and community association managers. Unfortunately, the school’s website doesn’t include instructor bios highlighting their expertise. Once you sign up for a class, you will have access to an instructor during their business hours.
Reputation
Bob Hogue School of Real Estate has an overall positive reputation as a well-established real estate school in Florida with decades of experience. Its reviews are mixed on third-party sites, but most students praise the instructors’ knowledge and how easy it is to sign up for a class.
Keep in mind that some former students found some of the teaching styles to be boring and outdated and didn’t like the lack of student resources and industry news on the website.
Additionally, the school is not accredited by ARELLO or IDECC, meaning that neither institution awarded them for meeting their stringent standards for an online real estate school.
Price
Bob Hogue School of Real Estate offers a variety of classes for aspiring and current Florida real estate professionals. Continuing education courses can be purchased individually for less than $15. Exam prep classes start at $49, and pre-licensing courses start at $245.
The prices of continuing education and exam prep classes are competitive, however, the pre-licensing classes are priced on the higher side when compared to other schools offering the same courses for Florida real estate agents.
Customer Service
You can reach customer service at Bob Hogue School of Real Estate on their website or via phone at 1-800-330-94111. The school has customer service hours Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST and is closed on the weekends and all major holidays.
Most professors keep business hours from Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and you will receive their contact information after signing up for a course.
Competition: Bob Hogue School of Real Estate vs. Real Estate Express
Real Estate Express is a real estate school that is certified by both IDECC and ARELLO. It teaches real estate classes in livestream and self-paced online formats but doesn’t have any actual campus locations. It has positive overall student reviews and is part of a large real estate education group of companies called McKissock. It offers pre-licensing courses in 34 states and continuing education classes through its partners in all 50 states.
We compared Real Estate Express with Bob Hogue School of Real Estate because both schools are now entirely online in two formats and offer a variety of real estate courses in Florida. Overall, we recommend choosing Real Estate Express because it is accredited, licensed in more states than Bob Hogue School of Real Estate, and offers a career hub with helpful information on the real estate industry, getting a job, and creating a resume. It also has a much more modern and easily navigable website.
| Bob Hogue School of Real Estate | Real Estate Express | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $245+ for pre-licensing in Florida | $92.40 + for pre-licensing in Florida |
| Courses Offered | Real estate licensing continuing ed, exam prep, designations, and instructor courses | Real estate licensing, exam prep, and continuing education |
| Number of States Courses are Offered | 1 | 50 |
| Course Format | Self-paced online and live-online | Live-online and on-demand |
Final Verdict
Bob Hogue School of Real Estate is a viable option if you’re interested in attending real estate courses online with the intention of working in Florida. It’s also a good option if you’re already a real estate professional and need to take continuing education courses to renew your license or want to learn some additional knowledge on community association management, which is helpful in Florida because there are so many condo and apartment buildings.
However, the school is not accredited by ARELLO or IDECC, has an outdated website, isn’t tech-savvy, has no online chat or mobile capability, and only offers classes in one state.
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.
