Upside-down on mortgage: Now what?

Q: My husband and I live in a house that I own on my own. I paid $500,000 for the house in 2005.

I took out a 100 percent loan with a 5-year fixed-rate first mortgage for $400,000 and an adjustable $100,000 home equity line of credit as the second loan. After about a year we refinanced the house to make improvements. We now owe $400,000 for our first, $100,000 for our second and $100,000 for our third. That means we owe a total of $600,000.

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