Faced with his own foreclosure-nightmare, Julius Caesar came up with a decisive and practical means to cure the solvency crisis which was at the heart of that real estate meltdown. Caesar decreed, according to Armstrong, that all mortgage interest would be canceled. Thus, all mortgage payments would be credited 100% to principal.

Not only did this decree have the effect of essentially making all property-owners solvent again, but with 100% of payments credited to principal, it also meant that (with the exception of extremely “underwater” mortgages) property-owners would immediately begin building up equity in their properties again.