That may not matter too much to accidental landlords, most of whom have substantial equity in the homes they are letting out.

The couple, who do not wish to be named, applied for a joint 250,000 interest-only mortgage over 18 years on their home, in which they held substantial equity.

This got me thinking: there are many low mortgage rates available to those with substantial equity.

Retired people regularly encounter difficulities when trying to take out mortgages and loans (as we report on page 59), despite having substantial equity.

They are often highly leveraged, sometimes with a substantial equity position held by venture capitalists.