PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — A Pinellas couple who are working on renovating a number of area homes are offering those locations as clean, safe spaces for evacuees from Hurricane Dorian to stay in for free.
- Carrie Wilbur, husband offering 4 homes to evacuees
- Homes have construction going on
- Couple also offering to look after pets
- More Hurricane Dorian stories
Real estate investor Carrie Wilbur and her husband have lived in Florida many years. When the news of Dorian’s path became clearer, they knew she could play a part.
“Knowing that we have four vacant houses available we thought, 'well, why don’t we offer them up to people on the east coast who need to evacuate and can’t afford to rent something?' and i know a lot of places were not available, so i made a post,” said Wilbur.
She put a post on her social media pages and on the “I love St. Pete” page. In just a few days, it’s now reached more than 1200 people and been shared 540 times.
Along with the shares, calls are starting to come in too.
“In fact, I spoke with a lady yesterday who is very anxious about the storm and she is waiting to see what is going to happen, and I had several other people message me through Facebook,” said Wilbur.
There is construction going on inside the homes, but Wilbur said if people take her up on the offer, she will make sure everything is clean and safe.
“We do have some air mattresses and things that we could offer, and some staging furniture in one of our other properties currently,” said Wilbur. “I have also been in a place where I could have used a hand. So we know that there are a lot of people that need a place to go that can’t afford it, and I just think it is a shame that for these houses that are perfectly habitable to just sit vacant.”
Wilbur and her husband are doing this for free. They don’t expect a dime from anyone.
“We wouldn’t charge the anything,” said Wilbur.
Wilbur and her husband are also offering to help watch people’s dogs or caged pets for free. She said she can’t take cats.
The best way to contact her is through here Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/carrie.wilbur.16