15%+ delinquincy rate and Fannie won't loan money for purchase

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/mar/20/condo-troubles-032009/?zIndex=70178

Seems like lenders want to kill the U.S. Fannie won't lend to a buyer who wants to buy if the Association has 15% or greater delinquincy rate, 'to protect property value'. It talks about condos but can HOA's be far behind if not already included?

This brings up that old debate whether these structures (hoa/condo) actually are protecting value.

Well, I figured this was coming - our townhouse community has a huge problem with delinquencies and we told homeowners in last year's budget letter that it was time to get this stuff resolved once and for all.

Certainly, Fannie Mae and the other landers who tossed money around like confetti aren't blameless for the current state of affairs, but I suppose one has to bit the bullet somewhere. If I were a lender, I'd be concerned about a community where the delinquency rate was over 15%, also. I would hope they would look at HOAs on a case by case basis, whenever possible - many of us are working our butts off to resolve the problem and need owner-occupants.