Q. I have a first mortgage and a home equity line of credit. With the recent market decline, my home is still worth more than what I owe on my first mortgage, but less than what I owe on both loans. Can I still refinance my first mortgage to avoid a skyrocketing adjustable rate that will hit soon?

A. You'll have a difficult if not impossible time finding a lender willing to refinance either of your loans. You must have at least some equity, usually 5% or more, before the great majority of banks or mortgage companies will even consider a refinancing.

I wish we could offer a brilliant solution for this dilemma. There are literally hundreds of thousands of homeowners facing the same problem with their adjustable-rate mortgages. They can't keep up with rapidly rising payments, but can't sell or refinance because they owe more than their homes are worth. In most cases that's because they financed 100% of the purchase price expecting the home to appreciate in value. Only it didn't. It declined. That's why we're seeing a spike in foreclosures across the country.

About all you can do is make some calls and see if you can find a lender who will help you out. Definitely call your current mortgage holder and some local mortgage brokers who have been dealing with this problem. If you can't find a new loan, then you'll have to hunker down and make the higher payments until home prices start rising again.