Do you live in a cookie cutter neighborhood in Northern Virginia like I do?  Unless you live under a rock, it's hard not to notice all of the "for sale" signs, but you'd be surprised to find out just how many homes in your neighborhood have foreclosed or are "short selling".  Foreclosures, distressed sales, and short sales are driving all of our values down, and will affect your future ability to refinance your home no matter how good your credit is.  Once you owe more than your home will appraise for, you are stuck in that loan until your value increases, or you are willing to pay down your mortgage.  If you still have decent equity in your home, but have an ARM that will adjust in the next 1-4 years, you may want to refinance into that fixed rate NOW rather than wait.  Fortune Magazine listed the Greater Washington D.C. area as one of the top declining markets in the country.  Don't wait until it's too late to refinance.  I talk to many folks every week who waited to long, and no longer have the option to refinance and must suffer with their existing adjustable mortgage.