Becoming a probate real estate agent can be a great way to distinguish yourself from the competition and an excellent source of leads and customers.
I’ve always been a fan of niches and differentiation in real estate. The industry is too competitive to try to be a general real estate agent.
When just starting out, I believe it’s important to carve out a little niche for yourself. From there, you can expand and become a top performing general real estate agent. But, only after you have established that base.
If you’re researching different niches, you may have come across becoming a probate realtor. You might be wondering what training or certifications are available in the market?
In this article, we will explore MTI Education’s and the US Probate Service probate training and Certified Probate Real Estate Specialist (CPRES) designation.
We’ll explore some of the pros and cons to the program, evaluate the weight and accreditation value of the certification, and give you a framework for evaluating if the program makes sense for you.
Let’s get started.
Pros Of MTI Education Probate Certification
When I decided to get started in probate, it was a whirlwind. At times, I felt like I was drowning in all of the information and the process.
The probate system and process can be so confusing, complex and difficult.
It’s something very few of us have experience in prior to becoming a probate real estate agent. Maybe a few of us had to navigate the system ourselves when a loved one passed.
Even then, an attorney handled everything and the logistics of the process were kind of clouded in mystery.
Since we’re all aware of this. We understand that we need to learn from somewhere.
Bundled Content Format
When it comes to learning the probate process and how to be a good probate real estate agent, we only have a few options.
First, we can find another probate real estate agent and ask that they mentor us. We can work directly with them learning the ins and outs of being a probate realtor.
But, finding another probate real estate agent can be challenging. Where do you start? It’s unlikely you have someone in your office who works probate leads.
Second, you can try to find how-to guides online, like “How to find probate leads” or “How to market to probate leads”.
You can certainly take this DIY approach to learning, but it will require a lot of work on your end. You will have to sift through a lot of data and articles to find the tidbits of information that you need in order to effectively start working in the probate industry.
Or, you can go the third route. Find a program that offers the content in a bundled, structured, and easy-to-use format.
That’s the promise of MTI Education probate certification. They promise to get you certified as a probate real estate specialist, teach you how to market probate leads, how to find probate customers, and more.
Pulled from their website’s sales page, here is the promise they make:
You can take these ideas and try to piece them together from podcasts like AllTheLeads or you can purchase a single product. The benefit of a bundled package is that you save time and have the convenience of access to this information.
Learn To Generate Leads
To me, the main selling proposition of MTI Education’s probate certification course is that we will generate more leads, more listings, and more sales.
A majority of the bullet points focus on lead generation, setting appointments, and how to sell the probate homes from a marketing perspective.
Plus, all of the positive reviews seem to focus on marketing and lead generation.
See how none of these reviews really mention learning the probate process from a technical standpoint. Instead, they use words like increase sales, increase business, and leveraging marketing tools.
Understanding how to effectively market and sell all good information that an agent needs to know. At the end of the day, technical knowledge is insufficient to be a top performing real estate agent.
Most of us know that after getting licensed. If your experience was like mine, then you know what I mean.
Want to break into the probate niche? Get the leads and lead generation strategy that your competitors don't know about and ones that most agents ignore.
I took my Michigan pre-licensure course very seriously. I tried to learn as much as I could not just to pass the exam, but to serve my clients at a high technical level.
And when I got started, boy, did I realize I had missed some training. I didn’t know the first thing about marketing and lead generation in the real estate industry.
No matter how my technical knowledge on fair housing, disclosure laws, and property values, it didn’t matter if I didn’t know how to generate leads and get clients.
So, probate training without training on lead generation is important, but not the ideal outcome. Yes, you need to know the probate process, but it doesn’t matter how much you know about probate if you can’t get the leads.
It’s just useless information at that point.
A comprehensive, bundled system that has a focus on marketing can be the benefit to investing in a course program like MTI Education’s Probate Real Estate Specialist.
Now, let’s turn our focus to some of the negatives.
It’s Not Certified By NAR
On MTI’s website, they share that they are not certified by the National Association of Realtors. It turns out NAR only certifies courses that they create.
The fact that it’s not certified by NAR may or may not be a big deal to you.
So, that leads to the question: is the certification accredited by any organization? In other words, has it been vetted to a certain accreditation standard?
As far as I can tell, that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Meaning, the course and certification isn’t certified by the National Association of Realtors or an accreditation body like higher institutions (ie college) are held to.
What value does a certification have if it isn’t scrutinized and held to a standard? It’s possible it’s nothing more than a logo.
Main point: don’t view the probate real estate specialist certification the same way you would view a designation or certification by the National Association of Realtors, such as the Pricing Strategy Advisor certification.
Perception Versus Reality In Probate
Does this mean the certification and logo have no value to you?
Not quite. It’s likely that the probate certification can be used to bolster your resume and reputation with clients. It can look good.
Sites like HomeLight recommend in their content that you find a probate realtor that is certified as a probate real estate specialist.
Other real estate related websites have followed suit in recommending that you work with a certified probate real estate specialist, CPRES.
So, clients may have some preconceived notions about the types of certifications you should have if you’re going to handle a probate sale.
There is a certain percentage of the population that will expect you to have this certification.
How large is this percentage?
That’s hard to say.
However, it’s safe to conclude that a probate lead coming through a lead generation website, like Homelight, have indoctrinated and set the expectation that the real estate agent they work with is probate certified.
Probate Training Isn’t State Specific
MTI Education’s probate certification isn’t state specific. For that reason and the accreditation issues, they aren’t able to offer it as a real estate continuing education credit.
Since it’s not state specific, there may be cases where you find the course content irrelevant or different from your state.
Probate laws are state specific. You will find that the state of California has different probate laws than Michigan probate laws.
Heck, you will even find that probate processes can vary from county to county. Probate in Wayne County is different from probate in Ingham County.
So, the process you learn about in the course may be different from the process that works in your area. That means, at least to some level, you will still need to test and learn the probate process for your state and your market.
Less About Probate And More About Marketing
This last disadvantage may be the reason you purchase the program. Personally, I love the fact that the program has a huge concentration on marketing.
I bring this point up because you need to understand what you’re getting when you enroll in the certified probate real estate specialist course.
At the end of the day, you are learning more about how to get business from the probate market. There is less focus on learning the legal side of probate.
Everything you learn about the probate process will be to aid in getting more probate clients and selling the homes.
If you’re looking to learn more about the legal aspects of probate, this wouldn’t be the course to learn it from.
What’s The Cost of MTI CPRES Course?
Pricing can vary by the time of the year. The regular price that is often listed is $997. I found this webpage which allows you to purchase it for $397. Again, this is a one-time fee and gives you certification for life. There is no need to renew every year to maintain your certification.
Since I am on the company’s email list, I was made aware that during Black Friday and Cyber Monday they offered a sale for $297.
All of this is at the time of publication, December 2021.
Should You Get It?
That really depends on your situation. You have to look at it from a cost benefit-analysis.
The course may be a great option if:
- You’re totally new to probate and don’t have the slightest idea on where to start
- You’re not very great at marketing or you have tried to market to probate leads without success
- You want the content in one easy place rather than having to search around the internet for the process and system of working probate leads.
- You’re serious about your career and business and have a deep belief in self-development and professional development.
If you’re lucky enough to get it at a discounted price, it’s not really a bad option — despite the cons. I believe spending money on marketing is typically one of the best things you can do for your business and real estate career.
And that’s how I see this course. An investment in learning and building a marketing system that will get you more leads and more clients.
Personally, I haven’t gotten the probate real estate specialist certification.
By the time I learned about the company and its program, I had pretty much learned probate from a DIY perspective. I was the guy that browsed the web for articles and videos. Over time I pieced together a system for myself.
How This Review Was Made
A quick caveat: I have never purchased or gone through this program. Everything that I wrote about in the review was information I discovered while researching the course.
I can’t speak to the quality of the content or how good the systems are that you learn about in the program.
I am unaware, without going through the program myself, if MTI Education delivers on their promise of teaching you how to generate leads from probate, trusts, and conservatorships.
Alternatives
If you don’t feel like this course is a good fit, take some time to review “Probate Mastery” created by Chad Corbett over at Magnus Optum Project. We wrote a review of that course, as well. You can read about the Probate Mastery course.
Conclusion
The course may be worth investing in. Just understand that it’s most likely to be helpful for those who have no clue where to start in probate and are comfortable with the modest investment.
A marketing system and sales process is where the value is in this course. I always believe money spent on marketing is always money well-spent.
Want to break into the probate niche? Get the leads and lead generation strategy that your competitors don't know about and ones that most agents ignore.
