Newbie MLS Question. Answers Appreciated

[Stephen Spradley]

Hello all,

I've been easing my way towards real estate investing for the past 10 months now, this year I want to pull the trigger. I have a very loose idea of what I want to do which is buy a duplex around the time my lease is up (April 2018) and rent out the other half to live for free or cheap. I have months to look, and my question is about the MLS. Is the MLS just a website that only RE agents have access to, or what is the deal? I literally hear about it all the time but am just looking for some clarity. Thanks in advance!