> Just because someone doesn't have a mortgage doesn't mean they magically have free money. I'm talking about people who have paid off their mortgage. They can

> Just because someone doesn't have a mortgage doesn't mean they magically have free money. I'm talking about people who have paid off their mortgage. They can re-mortgage their house, which would make a large sum available to them right then and there. I've even heard of people doing this when a house gains value: "extend" the mortgage, which gets you the gain of the house value in spendable cash ... (and I definitely agree that's a horrible, terrible, no-good, even potentially financial-system-destroying idea, but people will, 100% certainly, do this)