In Japan in the 1980s there were 200 year mortgages. You were not expected to stretch out the repayment over the full 200 years. The idea was that you would usu

In Japan in the 1980s there were 200 year mortgages. You were not expected to stretch out the repayment over the full 200 years. The idea was that you would usually pay down more than the minimum payment, but if you were short of funds for a while you could pay the minimum until your financial situation improved. It was nearly the equivalent of an interest-only loan.