The new way to buy a home
Buying with YELLOW
Find a home online
See all its info. Inspections, appraisal or price estimate, neighborhood info, and possibly even a title search - all right there.
Take a visit
Schedule a visit when its convenient for you - virtually or in person. You’ll receive a code to the key lockbox for access to the home (we make it safe for both buyers and sellers).
Make an offer
Put in an offer online. All the home’s info is right there, including an appraisal or price estimate, so there’s no mystery in how the seller set the price. We can help, too.
Be comforted in knowing that 6% of the price you’re paying for the home isn't going to real estate agent fees.
We're here through the close
We help you navigate the closing process.
Want help?
There’s always a real, live person here to help and there’s a ton of ways to contact us.
We also have guides and videos covering the entire process, so it’s possible to do everything without ever speaking to a human.
No commissions
Buyers only pay one low fee at closing, so if you don’t close, you don’t pay!
Is a real estate agent worth the cost?
We don't think so. Because of their fees, you’re paying 6% more for the home than you should be. That's a lot of money. Plus, it’s the title company that does the legwork of the actual purchase while the mortgage company handles the financing - not the real estate agent.
Read in-depth analysis on this subject and many others in our ARTICLES section.
Register
Sign up with YELLOW and complete your profile.
Click the Register | Login button at the top of this page to get started.
Get preapproved for a mortgage or verify financing
Find out what you can afford and see those homes.
A preapproval reveals the homes you can afford and also allows you to visit those homes. Buyers are only able to visit homes near or below their preapproval level or a threshold set by the seller.
For example, say a seller lists their home for $300,000. They can specify that they only want buyers preapproved for $270,000 or more to visit their home.
It's easy to verify your preapproval or financing - just upload or send your preapproval level to YELLOW and you're set!
Don't know how to get financing? We're here to help! Check out our RESOURCES page on financing or contact us directly.
Search for homes
Our Public Listing Service (PLS) map shows all current listings and details.
The first page you see on YELLOW is our Public Listing Service (PLS) map, showing all the properties listed with us. You can click on a home for more info.
A unique feature with YELLOW is that each home has already completed an independent inspection, appraisal or price estimate, and in some cases a title search. This helps buyers avoid any surprises and save a lot of money and time.
Visit properties
See a home you like? Take a visit.
If your preapproval level meets the criteria set by the seller, you can schedule a visit.
On each home's page you'll see a "Visit Property" link where you can set an appointment to visit.
Once confirmed, you'll get a one-time passcode for the specified date and time that will open the digital keybox to provide the door key.
More info on home visits can be found in our RESOURCES section.
Close
We'll walk with you through the closing process.
Your offer was accepted – that's great news! But now things get a little more complicated.
Depending on your source of funding, it could take several weeks before you are able to close and you'll have a lot of work to do in the meantime. We've put together a guide for what to expect in the closing process, which can be found in our RESOURCES section.
Everything you need to buy a home can be found with YELLOW.
Buyers can search for homes, find detailed information about it, visit, and make an offer – all with YELLOW. We are here to help, too, and work with buyers all the way to the close. And you pay nothing until the close, too. So if you don't close, you don't pay anything.
That said, if you are working with an agent, we can work with them to help you get the best deal possible.
The home inspection usually comes in the closing process, but to avoid late surprises, we’ve already completed the inspection using an independent inspector.
That doesn’t mean you can’t complete your own inspection later – we encourage buyers to do so – but this saves time and money in the long run.
On each listing page you’ll see an appraisal or price estimate, so there’s no mystery in how the seller came up with their price.
This transparency makes the buying process less stressful, cutting down on the negotiations when making an offer.
To help streamline the closing process, some homes have chosen to have the title report completed already. This is something every buyer will have to do in the closing process, so it helps make the closing quicker and easier.
On each listing you’ll see the basics like:
But you’ll also see some extra info, like:
It can be difficult to know details about a new neighborhood or area if you are unfamiliar with it. Each listing has links to online resources with info on:
Have a question about the home or the area? You can anonymously send a message directly to the seller for more info.
Every listing has a way to request an appointment online and a digital key lockbox so you can visit the properties on your own.
However, you do need to meet some qualifications to visit. The seller has the ability to limit visitors to their home and can set a preapproval threshold that buyers must meet in order to visit.
For example, say a seller lists their home for $200,000. They can specify that they only want buyers preapproved for $180,000 or more to visit their home.
Additionally, the seller may request a guided tour with YELLOW, where we join you, the buyer, on the tour using the video function on your mobile device. This is a way to keep everyone safe.
YELLOW provides all the forms you need to complete the real estate transaction, with instructions and resources to help.
YELLOW provides a free Resources section loaded with info on buying or selling a home, with links to outside resources for more information.
More info:
We provide the forms you need to complete the real estate transaction. All can be filled and submitted online.
Some forms can be complicated and difficult to complete on your own, so we include instructions in the form itself, as well as videos that walk through the form and provide explanations for the various fields. A live person is always here to help, too!
More info can be found here:
Our video instructions can be found here:
You may have to submit documents with personal information on them.
To keep them safe, every user has their own integrated Dropbox document storage area, where personal files are securely kept. This keeps your personal info off our servers and your privacy protected.
That’s right, you pay just one low fee, only at closing.
More info can be found here:
Do you have a charity you are fond of?
For up to an additional $50, we will donate that amount from you to your charity, PLUS YELLOW will make a matching donation for a total of $100 to that charity in your name.
More info can be found here:
You pay nothing until you close. At that time, you can pay out of pocket or roll the fee into your mortgage so there is no out-of-pocket cost.
Yellow only charges $699 to buy and $699 to sell. That’s all we make, but buyers will see additional costs.
YELLOW pays several closing costs upfront to streamline the process for home buyers - the inspections, appraisal, and title search. These costs will ultimately be paid at closing by whoever purchases the home. We believe this saves money in the long run since it prevents unnecessary costs in the closing process. Plus, there will be other costs throughout the closing proces, as well as earnest money and a down payment to consider. We discuss these more in our Closing Guide in the RESOURCES section.
Why doesn’t YELLOW cover these extra charges?
These inspections cost more than we charge and unfortunately this is still the part of the cost of the home buying process. If you were to use a real estate agent, you'd still have to pay these fees, PLUS their commission of 3% of the home's value. We're working to bring these costs down and simplify the home buying process. You still come out far ahead using YELLOW.
This is for the safety of our home sellers. We need to know you are who you say you are. Since sellers will be opening their homes for potential buyers to visit, it makes sense to know exactly who is visiting. Therefore, if something were to happen we will know who was in the home at that time.
Like the question above, this is for the safety of our home sellers. We need to know you are who you say you are. Since sellers will be opening their homes for potential buyers to visit, it makes sense to know exactly who is visiting. Therefore, if something were to happen we can verify who was in the home at that time.
This is for the benefit of our home sellers, as it indicates you are a qualified buyer. The seller may have their home listed for a price above what you are qualified for and it wouldn’t make sense for either side to proceed (we do recommend sellers be open to buyers who are approved close to their listing price (usually 10-15% below listing price), but this level is set at the discretion of the seller).
This also cuts down on the prying eyes, where some homes can find themselves open like a tour for the curious.
The buyer of the home will ultimately pay for this inspection. Is that fair? A buyer would have to pay this cost anyway, even when using a real estate agent. By only having to pay for one inspection, though, buyers will save a large amount of money over the course of their home buying search.
In the era of internet frauds, this is a relevant question. We take steps to verify the person’s identity and their legal ownership of the property, including a title search. We believe every home listed on YELLOW is legally able to be sold by the home’s owner.