Florida\u2019s quote of the day<\/p>\n
“Do these people not get bills? How do I get that job?”<\/p>\n
— Brad Coath<\/p>\n
Rebecca Parris rushes to the bank before it closes.<\/p>\n
The power could be shut off soon to her 960-square-foot mobile home in St. Petersburg, she fears, if she doesn\u2019t pay Duke Energy her overdue bill. The deep red \u201cAction Required: Bill Past Due\u201d banner on a Dec. 16 email from the company \u2014 and the handful that came before it \u2014 makes her heart pound.<\/p>\n
\nA neighbor chips in $95, and she speeds over to Bank OZK to cash the check. This month\u2019s crisis is narrowly averted. But she\u2019s already thinking about next month.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI\u2019ve worked my ass off my whole life,\u201d said Parris, 67, still sitting in the driver\u2019s seat of her car from her dash to the bank. \u201cBut it\u2019s been really hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mobile homes have long been an affordable option for people with fixed or lower incomes, when a big down payment and mortgage are out of reach. But beyond the smaller purchase price lurks a hidden danger: Because of outdated manufacturing standards, mobile homes can have much higher electric bills than traditional houses.<\/p>\n