That didn't give him enough time to liquidate his assets and pay off the loans.

Equity   -    my 800-900k equity is currenlty producing, 72k liquid cash per year,  40k principle paydown per year.      

Use liquid assets to assist in meeting full doc debt-to-income (DTI) ratio requirements. - Cross Collateralization.

My main reasoning is affordability as I have about 80k in liquid money to invest in a property.

With no liquidity and  no say but lots of fees I've always wondered why.  

Individuals overwhelmed by debt may need to liquidate their property to pay off creditors.Divorcing CouplesDivorce often necessitates the sale of shared property to divide assets quickly.

This is the only rental property I own so liquidating it is getting out of the real estate business.

Optimally liquid reserves but often to include retirement accounts or other investment account statements

Yep, that's the risk that you accept unfortunately - lack of liquidity and control.

Leverage tends to adds risk, I always recommend having the worst case backed up by, long term job prospects, other liquid assets to cover losses, an/or the ability to take measured risk more than once to even out uncertainty.The richest individuals use leverage to their advantage all the time, but it should be used with care.Zach