Welcome to this edition of Adam Ginsberg's "Insiders" Newsletter. Each issue is designed to provide you with insights, tips, secrets and overall strategies on how you can build your online auctions business. I'm sure you love this issue! This week will give you some insight into the world of Yahoo! Real Estate.

Yahoo! Real Estate

"Discover One Of The Fastest Growing Trends Online"  

Until the Internet took the world by storm, people planning to move to distant locations often scanned newspapers and relied on real estate agents to find neighborhoods and homes. Now, Online Real Estate is one of the fastest growing trends as more and more buyers and sellers are making deals in the virtual world of the Internet.

Real Estate agents still have an important role in the home buying process, but many people now use the Internet to find descriptions and pictures of available homes and apartments as well as information about mortgages and moving companies.

With Yahoo! Real Estate, Yahoo! brings much of this information together under one digital roof.

Whether you're an active Real Estate Investor, looking to make money in Real Estate, or simply want to great a deal buying or selling a house, you should consider implementing an online Real Estate strategy. There's a ton of websites online that are targeting real estate such as: eBay Real Estate and Bid 4 Assets. This article focus on the many virtues of Yahoo! Real Estate

Welcome Home

One of the great things about Yahoo! Real Estate is that you don't need to register to an account to take advantage of it's main Real Estate page some of its customizable sections. If you already know the city or zip code to which you plan to move, you can immediately find some information about the area by clicking the “choose location” link at the top right corner of the main page.

Early today I looked at some homes in the area that I'm investing in - to see what was available...it's an incredible resource and provides instant information at your fingertips.

Once you enter the information, and click continue, you’ll find that the main page automatically fills out the neighborhood section near the bottom left of the page. This section offers some basic population info and links to more detailed information including cost of living and temperature averages as well as air quality and crime indexes.

NOTE: One of the most popular online Real Estate Home Values can be found at: Zillow.com This is one of the fastest growing sites online and has some truly amazing technlogy. It's worth checking out...even if it's to see the value of your own home!

You can also find the neighborhood profiles by clicking the tools tab at the top of the page. You’ll find a row of tabs just below the choose location link including apartments for rent, homes for sale, and My Real Estate, among others.

The row of tabs appears on every page in the Real Estate section and each tab leads to the topics main page.

Another area that appears on all Real Estate page is Features. The features section lists several important categories relevant to each page, including Classifieds, Insurance and Resources. These links take you to features and services located on other pages. For example, the “Rent your Apartment” link under Features on the Real Estate home page links to the Rent Your Apartment or House on Yahoo! Real Estate service that also appears on the Apartment for Rents page.

If you click one of these links and are unsure where you ended up, look for the Real Estate link under the tabs. You’ll see the site’s web page path which offers a bigger picture of your location within the site.

Real Estate’s main page also offers Find A Home and Find A Rental search engines that let you specify some basic preferences. Fill out the search fields, click the appropriate radio button (such as Existing Homes, Forclosures, or New Homes), and then click Submit to see the listings.

Don’t overlook the Featured Videos and Real Estate News at the bottom right of the main Real Estate page. You’ll find videos of extravagant houses and articles about such varied topics as solving the mystery of a smelly water heater, tips for ditching credit card debt, and outlooks for mortgages.

Homes For Sale

The first thing you’ll notice about the Homes For Sale page is that it has nearly the same search engine that appears on the main Real Estate page. Use the radio buttons to search Existing Homes, New Homes, Forclosures or Yahoo! Classifieds.

The search engine doesn’t let you specify many preferences initially, but you can create a much more detailed search by clicking the Advanced Search link at the bottom of the search engine. Click the Residential, Forclosures or Commercial tab and then fill out the extra search fields. If you’re looking for residential home, you’ll find that you can narrow your search from an entire city to within 1 mile of a specific address. You can also exclude any listings that don’t include photos or virtual tours.

If you’re trying to find houses that are close to a particular address, such as your place of work, click Submit and then click the View Results on Map button when the search results appear.

Real Estate’s Homes For Sale section also lets you list your home, thanks to the Yahoo! classifieds area. You’ll need to register a Yahoo! ID to take advantage of this feature. Simply click the Sell Your Home Today! Link below the Sell Your Home section and then choose the categories and subcategories into which you’d like to place your ad.

Apartments For Rent

The apartments section has the same rental search engine that appears on the main Real Estate page. The search engine looks for apartment, house and room rentals, senior living, and condos by default, but you can specify a particular residence in the Property Type field.

If you’d like to rent out your property and have a Yahoo! ID, click the Rent Your Property Today link below the Rent Your Apartment Or House section. Property owners can choose between two listing types: Basic Listings and Featured Listings.

Renters who are looking for a roommate or want to share a rental should check out the Roommate Center. You can create a free profile and use the Roommate Finder to meet compatible roommates.

Home Loans

The National Mortgage Rates section of the Home Loans’ main page offers rates for common loans, such as 15- and 30-Year Fixed. The chart also lets you see last week’s national rates.

Moving & Insurance

If you’re ready to start planning to move into your new apartment or house, check out this tab. The Moving Services section contains relevant ads, but the Moving Tools section offers a Moving Checklist that is one of the best online.

Tools

The Tools section has several small offerings that will help you find, sell, or rent a home. The Features bar on the left side of the page is particularly lengthy here and offers a Libraries categories that includes a Renter’s Library and a House Facts area. The Tools page also lets you receive bids from agents without disclosing your identity.

My Real Estate

If you have a free Yahoo! ID, you can take advantage of the My Real Estate section, which keeps track of your home, neighborhood, and rental searches.

The main My Real Estate page has three sections: Saved Neighborhoods, Saved Listings, and Saved Searches.

Help Is A Click Away

If you find yourself lost in Yahoo! Real Estate’s maze of tabs, look for the Help link in the upper-right corner of every page. The link takes you to Real Estate-specific help topics, such as “How Do I Use The Agent Finder?” If you discover a problem with a listing or another part of the Real Estate service, click the Report Abuse link and let Yahoo! know what you think.

Until the next issue...

Knowing No Boundaries

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