Q. Should we refinance both of our mortgages if we can get a single loan for 5.5% or 5.25%, or should we just refinance our second mortgage? We have a first mortgage at 5.5% with a balance of $209,000. (We pay $1,300 month). We have a home equity loan at 7% with a balance of $65,000. (We pay $650 month for a total of about $1,950 a month.)

A. If you can roll your debt into a new loan that charges less than you're paying on your existing mortgages and significantly reduces your total monthly payments, that's probably the way to go.

You also can refinance your second mortgage without touching your first mortgage. But the average interest rate for a second mortgage is running about 8.5% now. So you'd have to get a much better than average deal to make that worthwhile, and that will be hard to find.

The big question is whether you have enough equity in your home to refinance at all.

As you probably know, equity is the difference between how much your home is worth and how much you owe. Right now, your total mortgage debt is $274,000. Most mortgage lenders will lend only 75% to 80% of a home's value in a refinancing. That means your home would have to be worth about $330,000 to support a mortgage of that size.

If it's not and refinancing is not possible, take heart. By any measure, you have good rates on both of your existing loans.