How exactly does yahoo realestate work?

Question

and what are the methods that they use as far as being a middle man in a transaction

Answer 1

Yahoo allows you to search through the real estate listings that have been set up by their advertisers. They recieve money for "pushing" the names on you. Most of the time you can find the MLS number listed elsewhere online (and get the full address if they do not list it on the Y! RE site).

You can also make offers, view photos, contact the realtors and arrange for a viewing of some of the homes. It's best to research a home a little more on your own (to find out about the neighborhood and to see if anything is wrong with the house) before contacting the realtor. (I.E. In Lee County, FL you can search at www.leepa.org to see what the actual value of the home is and who the owner is - possibly making it easier for you to buy the home at a cheaper price!)

Good luck on your home hunt!

Answer 2

Yahoo! Real Estate provides users with several tools and services to help with the home buying, selling, or renting process.  You can search homes for sale, research mortgages and rates, find home values, search apartments, etc.  Yahoo! Real Estate is not involved as a "middle man" in the transaction process.  They make money purely by selling ad space to advertisers that appear next to several areas of the site.  Yahoo! does not get paid to "push" listings in users faces as the previous person stated.