Can your mortgage make you richer?

I'm holding a perky, orange piece of junk mail from my online bank asking this very question. The "get-richer" pitch? A mortgage with super-low closing costs (Good!) a low rate with no points (Good!)...and a 5/1 Adjustable Rate (Now, wait just a minute....)

Aren't save-now, never-pay-later ARM pitches of recent years the reason a lot of new homebuyers are now facing foreclosure? They gambled on being able to easily and profitably sell their "starter homes," or at least refinance, before their rates reset and raised the mortgage payment by hundreds of dollars. But they lost those bets - the housing market suddenly reversed course.

"Most people sell or refinance within 5 to 7 years," chips my junk mail, suggesting I needn't worry about the day of reckoning. Really? Some very smart economists predict Massachusetts home prices will keep softening in the short run, and then remain fairly stagnant for several years. And that's the best-case scenario.

In our home search, we're ignoring any house we don't feel comfortable staying in for at least 10 years, because we figure it will take at least that long before we can sell without risking a loss. Which means chucking that cute piece of junk mail into the recycle bin.