Then it's about the discipline of the person, not the nature of the product.
We've had examples where an older person has a fully paid off house and basically can't access the equity.
I don't get that. Having a loan that's fully offset is more flexible than a fully paid off loan. e.g. you lose your job, your borrowing power drops. You might not be able to get a loan even if you have an unencumbered property?