The experts will all tell you that negative equity isn't a problem for life. You just sit tight, ride out the tough times, and eventually the price will edge back up to what you paid for your home.

In most cases it only takes a couple of years of the boom times to ride out losses, and the majority are back in the black within five years.

This is all very well and good, but what if you have to move right now? What if you get a new job 100 miles away, or you have triplets, or you need to move for a good school?

In recent months the options haven't been attractive. You could let out your home and move into rented accommodation to be at the mercy of a landlord. You could live with the hell of the wrong property. Or you could desperately turn to friends and family to bail you out.

But now there's a new solution

Chelsea Building Society has come up with an offer that could be a bit of a lifeline.

It has changed its policy, so if you already have a mortgage with the building society, you can get a deal worth up to 125% of your property's value if you have to move. You can't borrow any extra, but you can make up for any loss in the value of your home.

This is great news for Chelsea customers. The question is whether other lenders will follow suit. The jury is out on this so far. The experts are calling for it, but so far there's no answer.

The Nationwide introduced something similar in July, but brokers aren't holding their breath for other mortgage lenders to lend a hand.

Most of them have enough troubles of their own to be worrying about.