Taxpayers' Mortgage Fannies on the line - 2004-02-26
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have gone and dugged themselves in huge trouble. Fannie and Freddie are the two government-sponsored mortgage companies that help most of us buy homes.

Trouble is, they've run themselves into big-time debt -- they've doubled the amount they owe in just the last five years. When I say big-time, try $2 trillion. And guess who's on the hook if these things go under? Congratulations, taxpayers.
Read the full story at Working for Change

Mortgage round-trip: Timing a home sale, home purchase - 2004-02-26
Given the situation, most people would sell their old house and acquire their new house on the same day. But it's not always possible to time the closing of the sale and the closing of the purchase within minutes of each other.

"When moving in the same geographic area, nine times out of 10 you see the closing dates coincide with each other," says James Mason, director of sales for Internet lender MortgageIT.
Read the full story at Bankrate.com