When you secure a mortgage to purchase a home you generally place a percentage of the cost of that home as a 'down payment.' The rest is borrowed with the property as collateral. You are given a payment schedule and once this is satisfied, you will own 100 percent of the property. And in the meantime, you have a home for yourself and your loved ones.

Because real estate was considered for a while to be the fast train to instant financial success, many people used the equity in their homes as a bank account. Those double digit rises in home values made many of us feel we were rich beyond our dreams. Need a new car? Want to go on a dream vacation or send the kids to a high end college? It's easy. Just tack it onto the mortgage.

Borrowing money means you have to pay it back at some point. It's not a gift. And those enormous gains in the real estate market couldn't last. Smart folks moved forward with caution, using their home's equity for essentials like replacing a leaky roof.

Owning a home is still a good bet and a reasonable way to gain steady financial security. It's a rare thing for anyone to have enough money in the bank to pay cash, so most of us incur the debt of a mortgage. That's a good thing. It allows us the comfort of a home of our own. Just keep in mind that even though your home's value will rise, you'll need to have your financial house in order and not depend on your home as a bank for all your needs.

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