Fourth of July marks home-sellers' scramble to get into new homes

"It's a casual rule of thumb that motivated home buyers generally want to strike a deal in time to be moved in before the new school year starts before a summer-eased workload revs up again for employed adults and before winter holidays loom. That window of opportunity is shrinking daily, which makes this a good time for another look at distressed sellers and how they might be coping with underwater loans, high variable payments and the threat of foreclosure."