This story from the AP says 650,000 homeowners are enrolled in the Obama administration's foreclosure prevention/mortgage modification program. But Florida has been less successful in attracting candidates to the Making Home Affordable program. Why? Blame the investors:

Launched with great fanfare in March, the plan got off to a weak start, but now nearly 920,000 loan modification offers have been sent to more than 3.2 million eligible homeowners. That works out to 29 percent, up from 15 percent at the end of July.

In California, about 130,000 homeowners have been enrolled in the "Making Home Affordable" loan modification plan, which President Barack Obama unveiled in February. That works out to about 19 percent of the state's homeowners who were either two payments behind or in foreclosure at the end of last month, according to Treasury Department data.

Two other hard-hit states, Arizona and Nevada had similar rates of assistance as California, at 22 percent and 18 percent respectively. Florida, however, was much lower, at 12 percent, possibly because of high numbers of investor-owned properties that don't qualify for the program.

If you'll recall, the program is supposed to guarantee that homeowners current on their mortgage payments pay no more than 31 percent of their incomes toward monthly mortgage payments, including taxes and insurance.

To enroll, however, you have to prove a "hardship" that can include family illness, pay cuts and unemployment, etc. After a 3- or 4 month trial period, during which the bank checks if the homeowner can afford the lowered mortgage payment, the cheaper mortgage becomes more or less permanent.

I think it's a good program, considering the other options. These are people who aren't in foreclosure but fear they're headed that way. But let's not fool ourselves: This is a massive, hugely expensive, long-term subsidy for homeowners who in many cases bought too much house during a period of exuberance.

It's also subject to abuse, but much less so than other programs. Even at the risk of federal penalties, some Tampa Bay homeowners will certainly understate their incomes to exceed Washington's 31-percent-of-income cap.