American Real Estate Academy

I took this course during covid . Matthew taught the course. He was willing to offer additional assistance after class. He made himself available and was able to tutor
At any time. I recommend this school
To anyone who is interested in going into Real Estate as a full time career.

Don't take these courses! If you misspell or misplace with a capital letter in the word you get marked wrong. They also charge you $25 for a refund when my course was $45.00. Use Rockwell or CE where the content is engaging and the testing if fair. I have been in Real Estate for 18 years!!!

Irrelevant waste of my time!

I signed up for an in-class based instruction in hopes of providing a stimulating and interactive classroom experience for myself. This was not the case. The instructor, who didn't even bother to introduce herself at the beginning of the class, was the most boring, least interesting teacher I have ever had. She spend the majority of the time sharing irrelevant stories such as her "very tall, Macgyver like, husband's mini-van car buying experience" for example. Please tell me how this is remotely related to real estate? I endured 3 days of classes before I gave up and decided to look elsewhere for instruction. TOTAL WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know where to begin with this mess. I wish I had never come across them online. There are so many bad things about this place I apologize in advance if I repeat myself or seem scattered.

Let me say first off that I did the online course. I have no idea what it's like in the classroom. They have 2 sections. One you can complete at your own pace and one you have to sign up for and watch the pre-recorded lectures. I have no idea why this is, I assume it's part of the licensing rules.

These videos were taped several years ago and I can only imagine they never watched them to see how they are. They sound like they were taped in a tuberculosis ward. People sitting right next to the microphone constantly coughing. Not just one person or two but what seemed like the entire row. One would start and set off another and another. This occurs in almost every 40 minute section of each topic. It's not just annoying, it makes it hard to hear what she is saying. But yeah, it's also super annoying. There was an easy fix to this. They could have just put a microphone on the teacher. Instead it's on the camera in the back next to the students. Awful.

Next up is the teacher herself. She has to fill 40 hours but there is only like 25 hours of material. So she banters and talks about her family. You will learn EVERYTHING you never wanted to know about her family. Her nationality, her children's learning disabilities, how she raised them to not have specific gender roles, her husband is tall, she pays the bills... It is so annoying, so distracting and so awful and you CAN'T STOP IT! You are forced to watch it. You will get on a roll and take notes then she will go on (no lie or exaggeration) for 15 minutes or more filibustering and THAT is what you will take away. Not the important stuff. You will remember the fact that her son grew his hair long and people starting calling him a girl and she asked if he was ok with that and his son was like, "yeah I don't care."

Instead of actually drilling this stuff into your head with examples and situations that would help you remember what you are learning she TALKS ABOUT HER FAMILY AND HER PAST over and over and over again. It is infuriating.

Want to take notes? Good luck. The little bit of information is so spread out between her family history lesson it makes it almost impossible.

The one good thing is you can ask questions during the lectures and YOU WILL NEED TO! But unfortunately you will need to because she give you information that is sometimes contradictory. This also becomes a problem with the practice tests. There were many confusing things about the practice quizzes and tests. Here is an example:

She teaches you that the initial money that starts the process off is held onto by the Seller's broker and put into their account. However when you get that question on the quiz, the answer is EITHER the seller or the buyer's broker can hold the money. I of course go the question wrong because I was going by what she taught us. I wrote in to ask about this and the person I talked to was nice enough but was very vague and would not actually say if she was right or wrong. His answer was something like, "well technically they can both hold it but usually it's the seller who holds it." Trust me on this. You need to know the SPECIFIC answer for the test and to this day I have no idea what the correct answer is. I think it's the seller but still not sure.

The quizzes and tests are riddled with mistakes and also with spelling errors. It may not seem like a big deal but some of the questions are geared towards being tricky. So you have to ask yourself, is this a real thing they spelled wrong or some weird made up thing they are trying to trick you with. These questions are so specific you shouldn't have to deal with that as well.

Lastly, when it comes to taking the 3 full practice tests, get ready to be upset. I took all 3 multiple times on chrome and IE and was only able to complete them 3 times (1 each). They constantly reset after 20, 40, 50, 60 questions. You end up having to start the whole thing over again. These tests are time consuming and to have to start them all over again is just awful.

The 3 practice tests, if you can get through them are great though. And in a weird and unintentional way, having to start them over again and again, really drilled in some of the answers I was getting wrong and was able to adjust.

I went online and took several other free site's salesperson tests. To help supplement theirs. I took lots of note cards and studied when I could. I did end up passing the test on the first try but, and I can't emphasize this enough, it is not because of AREA's lectures. It was because the lectures were so bad and I was so worried I didn't learn the information I went through the study sheet and took what notes I could, went to other free sites and took their tests and then drilled the practice tests over and over again.

Stay away!

I signed up about 2 years ago (maybe more) for their on demand real estate class... I'm embarrassed to say it's taken me a very long time, with life events, and misc things popping up... They've extended my course about 3 or 4 times without ever questioning me. The classes are great and I can't speak highly enough of their customer service! Thank you American Real Estate Academy for being so understanding, and helpful every time I've contacted them!

I attended American Real Estate Academy in Summer of 2018.

I am a licensed Massachusetts educator with 10 years experience, so I have some insight into what goes into making a good school good for students and teachers alike.

Matt, Alicia, and their crew did everything right not just from a curriculum standpoint but with regards to creating an inclusive, safe classroom setting.

The classroom environment is well-lit with ample seating. Main Street in Waltham sidewalk is right out the window, but the noise is not bothersome to students or the instructor.

There are plenty of plugs for laptop outlets in case you want to bring your Lenovo or Mac Book and take notes.

There is water available for sale for $1 for a 16 oz bottle. You may also bring your own refillable container.

The AREA team creates an educational environment that would pass muster in the strictest school in Massachusetts.

In addition to the safe and comfortable learning environment, the teachers go above and beyond the call of duty.

The instructors are brilliant, knowledgeable professionals who have proven track records of success over 20- and 30- year careers in law, finance, and real estate sales. Students receive the equivalent of graduate school-level education and instruction from these highly qualified pros.

They throw a lot of material at you at once, but they point out what is most relevant for the exam. They keep the class goal-focused so that students don't get lost in too many little details. The objective is to pass the exam, get the license, and go into business to earn money - not to be able to recite the entire Massachusetts real estate law code.

This is important to know because a sign of strong teachers is being able to get to the point and communicate the information most needed by students.

The price tag is so low that you won't believe it. My courses cost me well under $400. $400 in exchange for the chance to earn commission on a $500,000 sale? Uhhh... yeah. Sounds like a good deal to me. What do you all think? :)

Matt, the Manager, is a kind, friendly person with a smile that could light up Fenway Park.

You can tell from the minute you shake his hand that his sole goal is to provide experience-tested guidance and expertise to students on their journey to becoming licensed professionals and financial successes in their own right. There is nothing punitive or punishment-oriented about AREA. Every single word the staff and instructors say is positive and about the student becoming as successful as possible.

As an aside, please allow me to note that while we all have a right to share our opinions online, not all opinions are created equal. Some are based off of misinformation and misunderstanding.

You will see some reviews on Yelp about instructors being "boring" or "telling too many stories". I encourage you, the consumer, to take that brand of review with a grain of salt.

To any given student in any given high school, college, or professional training school like AREA, one class subject will be "boring" while another is "amazing" or vice-versa.

A high school freshman could think her gym teacher is an incredible coach and athlete where as a senior could think the same coach is lazy and lame. Each have their reasons for thinking what they think. I urge you to decide for yourself by going in and meeting Matt and his crew face to face. They will help you figure out if AREA is a fit for you.

In closing, as a veteran professional educator who has been on teacher and administrator hiring committees; led hardworking high school kids to victory on the lacrosse and football fields, and received generally positive evaluations over my ten years teaching Spanish from 2001-2011: Matt, Alicia, and American Real Estate Academy are the real deal.

Grade: A+++++ with a huge smiley face!

Sign up for AREA now. You will learn a ton; meet nice people who are also interested in becoming agents, share networking and sales tips, and begin to build your foundation for a successful career selling real estate in one of the highest volume and highest value markets in the country.

Thanks again, Matt and Alicia! Wishing you all a fantastic rest of the summer and much success for time to come.

Truly yours,

Justin Pickering

So, I thought that maybe it was me thinking this was the most boring class I've ever taken. But then I talked to a friend who had taken the same course through another company and he said it was amazing. The teacher at this other company was funny, interesting, and he brought in five real estate professionals to tell the class what the real estate business was all about.
I've taken one weekend of classes so far and the teacher couldn't be more standoffish and abrasive. In addition to that, her personal anecdotes are boring and have nothing to do with what she is teaching.
By the way, my friend who took the class with the other company purchased it on Groupon and only paid $90 versus the $350 they charge here.

I have to say by far this is the best real estate course that offers online courses. American Real Estate Academy is not like other real estate schools. Once you finish the courses they stay in contact with you giving you helpful guides and tips! if you have a question on a question you get stuck on, you can email them and they will work with you to solve it! Its very obvious to me that AREA wants to me to succeed. I 100 percent recommend everyone pick this real estate school!

I've been to a few different professional license courses like this, I am sure Alicia
Is the most knowledgeable of any instructor I have had in these type settings!!
She is overqualified for sure, but that is a good thing! As a lawyer, she gave us insight into real estate law that we never would have got in a basic course. It was like taking a college level course on real estate sales and real estate law!
I'm sure we got some really interesting and useful info that may not be on the actual test, but it is invaluable in the real world of real estate!
Hey, sitting for 40 hrs is a drag, but at least we got a good education!
Thankyou Alicia and R.E.A.L. For an informative course!!

I cannot express my disappointment enough. I drove over an hour to go to AREA because I was told by a relative it's thee best. The instructor was not only rude but as another review stated she was standoffish and argumentative. I tried, I really did but after attending almost all the hours required I could not even stand another hour. I refuse to pay for someone to treat me in such a condescending manor. I will be paying to take the course elsewhere.
This woman should not be an instructor.
Go back to being a lawyer Felicia!!!
PS Everyone else there was great!
Unfortunately they are not your instructor.