By HOLDEN LEWIS, bankrate.com

The Federal Reserve began to slash short-term interest rates almost a year ago. Yet we have higher mortgage rates now than we had then. What gives?

Mortgage rates took a big jump this week, to their highest point in a year. There's no single explanation for the rise.

Your bank sends you a letter, telling you that the limit has been reduced on your home equity line of credit, or HELOC. That news is unwelcome enough. What the letter doesn't tell you is this: Your credit score just got whacked.

Homeowners and lenders aren't the only losers in foreclosure. Mortgage insurers have a lot at stake, too -- and they're doing a variety of things to keep people in their houses.

In some cases, mortgage insurers kick in cash to help borrowers catch up on their house payments. One company doesn't even ask for the money back.

Mortgage rates fell this week on continued signs of economic weakness.

Higher loan limits, set by the federal government as part of an economic stimulus package early this year, were supposed to make jumbo loans more affordable in expensive housing markets. Rates finally have come down on these so-called "jumbo conforming" mortgages, though these loans likely will remain hard to get for most borrowers.

It seems that mortgage servicers aren't satisfying anyone these days.

Homeowners get fed up when they try to work something out with their servicers, to no avail. Real estate agents complain that mortgage companies drag their heels on short sales. Regulators are restless about the lack of "meaningful improvement in foreclosure prevention outcomes."

Getting a mortgage can be confusing and frustrating. To make it less so, the federal housing department has proposed an overhaul of the mortgage process, from application to closing.

Mortgage lenders desperately want past-due borrowers to open the mail and pick up the phone.

Mortgage rates fell this week, keeping a refinancing boomlet alive.