Housing: Can I Afford My Mortgage?

Over the next few years, about 8 million adjustable-rate mortgages will reset. If yours is among them, you need to decide whether to refinance now or later. Check the fine print on your mortgage to see how bad it can get in the first reset and over the life of the loan.

While it may seem like a no-brainer to refinance now, you may not need to rush because rates aren't expected to climb sharply this year. What's more, you could pay closing costs of 2 percent to 3 percent of the loan. Use the fixed-vs.- adjustable tool in the calculator section of Bankrate.com to help you make the call.

Also read: HOW MUCH LOAN DO I QUALIFY FOR? from Millionaire Now!

Housing Bubble and Real Estate Market Tracker for 2/20 from SA

The Fidelity Research Institute: Promoting a Lie

Phoenix's latest top job ranking recognizes biotech impact
from the Phoenix Business Journal, reports that this month's Forbes list of the Best U.S. Cities for Jobs ranked Phoenix number two in the nation for the second straight year. Top honors went to Raleigh, N.C. Detroit, MI landed at the bottom of the list among the nation's largest 100 metro areas. Tucson checked in at number 20 and Las Vegas fell to eighth place. To compile the ranking, Forbes used five data points, weighed equally: unemployment rate, job growth, income growth, median household income and cost of living. The Phoenix area ranked 16th for unemployment, fifth for job growth, second in income growth, 34th in median household income and 64th in cost of living. The Forbes story, however, also had some cautionary words for areas buoyed by housing quoting Hugo Sellert, an economist and research manager with Monster: "The economy has shifted a lot in the past year, especially with the housing market cooling down," he said in predicting that markets in Florida and Phoenix will weaken, while the Midwest and Texas will start generating more jobs. See entire list HERE .

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