Please see my response:

Thank you for your warning.  Your point is well taken.  My weapons for risk-control include dollar cost averaging and holding for the long term, and my properties spit out $100k to $150k annual positive cash flow.  My LTV is about 65%.  The lenders would not give me more loans beyond that.  So we wait for house value apprecation and principal reduction, then do refi.  Then we wait again for house value apprecation and principal reduction, and then do refi.  And then repeat.  So, these are some of my safeguards.  There are entire chapters in my book on these, including "Tell me where I am going to die so that I will never go there", and "Protect the down side and the up side will take care of itself."  I appreciate your point of risk awarenees.