In Era of Cheap Money, Consumers Are Shut Out.

Michael Shreve, a 57-year-old science teacher in Marysville, Wash., has watched helplessly as mortgage rates have fallen. He said that despite his stellar credit score, no bank had been willing to let him trade in his 6.35 percent 30-year mortgage because his house was now worth less than when he bought it. ''At some point,'' he said, interest rates are going to go up again, ''and I should have been able to get those low rates. It's not fair.'' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]