"Any time you purchase an apartment building and put substantial equity in it, you are taking a risk," he said.

He explained that many of the people who will buy at Sterling Park stand to receive substantial equity when they sell their homes.

Tens of millions of homeowners who had substantial equity in their homes two years ago have little or nothing today.

Though the taxes must eventually be paid, it does save taxpayers with substantial equity from being forced out because of high taxes.

That is because Federal regulations prohibit one company from owning substantial equity in cable systems that reach more than 30 percent of the nation's households.

They tend to be people who are used to making regular weekly payments and they have a substantial equity in their homes because of discounts.

The elderly are particularly vulnerable to the practice because they often have substantial equity in their homes but live on fixed incomes.

It is also more likely to make acquisitions, because regulators tend to approve combinations in which the acquirer has substantial equity.

The financing plan, with its favorable terms, is available to clients who have built up substantial equity in a home.

And certainly anyone who has built up substantial equity in a whole life or universal life policy.