how do you rotate a lot to view the yards, etc
 

I just got sims 4. I can use the wheel of my mouse to go in close or out far, the right mouse to go to the right the left, or forward or backward. But (and I know I am dumb) How the heck do you rotate around . I am stuck in the back or front of a house and I can't rotate to the side or back (if I am in the front). How? I can't rotate around to view different sides of a room either.

It depends on which camera mode you are using. If it's the "normal" camera, I believe it's the right mouse button. If you change the setting to "The Sims 3 Camera" under Game Camera in Options, it'll be like in TS2/3 and the mouse-wheel button controls rotation.