Cheyenne Wyoming Area Expert Connie Webb: Wyoming: Cheyenne

Beautiful scenery, great trails and fun in the sun; that's what the parks of Cheyenne are all about!  Whether we want to admit it or not, summer is passing us all by, and fast!  Take the time to enjoy one of Cheyenne's many parks this summer.

Absarraca Park:  Located N.W. of Carey at Kennedy Road, this park features boating, fishing, pond, picnic facilities, restrooms and a dump station.

Brimmer Park:  Located at Perhing Blvd at Windmill Road, this park features picnic facilities, play ares, concessions, softball field, restrooms, and a skate park.

Holliday Park:  Located at 19th Street at Morrie Avenue, this park features an art center, basketball courts, bike path, horse shoes, pond, picnic facilities, play areas, rental shelter, restrooms, four tennis courts and volleyball courts. 

Lions Park:  Located at Carey Avenue at 8th Avenue, this park features a beach, bike paths, boating and boat rentals, botanical garden, concessions, fishing, fitness trails, mini golf, picnic facilities and more.

Mylar Park:  Located at Seminole Road at Mylar Park, this park features a bike path, fishing, horse shoes, a pond, picnic facilities, play area, rental shelter, grills and frisbee golf.

North Park:  Located at Mynear Street at Ridge Road, this park features picnic facilities, play area, eight soccer fields, tree farm, archery ranges, restroom and concessions.

Pioneer Park:  Located at 1331 Talbot Court, this park features baseball fields, basketball courts, concessions, picnic facilities, play area, recreation building, tennis courts and restrooms.

South Park:  Located on Parsley Blvd, this park features softball fields, picnic facility, youth activity center and frisbee golf.

The following parks have shelters available for rental between May 1 and September 30 for $20/hour:

• Holliday Park
• Lions Park North Shelter
• Lions Park Gazebo
• Mylar Park
• Pointe Park
• Holliday Park West Picnic Shelter
• Sun Valley Picnic Shelter (located along 12th Street near Centennial)

Contact the Parks Department at 307.637.6429 to reserve a shelter.

Dear Military Personnel or Family or Friend of the Military:

I have just been made aware that it may be possible for you to still take advantage of the first time home buyer tax credit. There may be an extension for military personnel who were overseas. Please see details below:

Members of the military and certain other federal employees serving outside the U.S. have an extra year to buy a principal residence in the U.S. and qualify for the credit. Thus, an eligible taxpayer must buy, or enter into a binding contract to buy, a principal residence on or before April 30, 2011. If a binding contract is entered into by that date, the taxpayer has until June 30, 2011, to close on the purchase. Members of the uniformed services, members of the Foreign Service and employees of the intelligence community are eligible for this special rule. It applies to any individual (and, if married, the individual’s spouse) who serves on qualified official extended duty service outside of the United States for at least 90 days during the period beginning after Dec. 31, 2008, and ending before May 1, 2010.

I would be happy to help you look for your new home. Interest rates remain low and the inventory is high, so the time is perfect to find that new home.

Click here to Search for Your Cheyenne Home now.

Great Places to Eat in Cheyenne Wyoming:   Great Harvest Bread Company. On my way to work this morning, I stopped by The Great Harvest Bread Company located at 5249 Yellowstone Road.  If you have not stopped in there, you are really missing something. The staff is so polite and accommodating.  The breads are just wonderful. They use the freshest ingredients and whole wheat. In fact, they give FREE samples of their breads.  Not a teeny tiny bite, but a real slice of bread..with butter if you want.  I tried the 9 Grain Wheat bread. MMMMMMMMMMMM...so good!!

This family owned business does not just have breads, they also have soups, sandwiches, scones, muffins, salads and other baked goods.  They open up about 6:30 in the morning and close around 5:30 in the afternoon, or after all their product is sold.  They are closed Sundays and Mondays.   Visit them on the web at  www.greatharvestcheyenne.com

Cheyenne Wyoming Dog Friendly Places.  As we venture into Spring and Summer, we see people out with their dogs..either walking, jogging, playing fetch, or just having a good ole time.  I am looking to see where Cheyenne residents think the most Dog Friendly places are. 

Holiday Park and Lions Park have great walking paths, and lots of open space to play.  Near the Humane Society is a dog park.   The walking paths throughout Cheyenne also afford great places to walk your dogs.

Please respond with your favorite places, as Gus wants to know!!   

GUS at 9 weeks old.   Gus is an English BullDog and comes to work at the Century 21 Bell Real Estate Office.  He is getting a bit tired of just walking around the office and is wanting some more excitement in his life!  As a puppy he has a lot of energy and needs to find a lot of excitement...

Here is a link to Dog Friendly Places in Cheyenne.  Click on this link to take you to great places for your dog. 

 http://www.dogfriendly.com/server/travel/uscities/guides/us/cities/usonlinecityWYCheyenne.shtml

Shopping For a New Home? Cheyenne is a Great Place to Buy!  If you are in the market for a new home, there are a lot of things to consider.  Do you like to cook?  Then you will want a home with a well equipped kitchen.  How about gardening?  Is a big yard important?   Here is some great infomation that I found on the Century21 Network.  Makes a lot of sense.  Click on this link or paste it in your browser.  http://www.21online.com/ViewNewsItem.aspx?ID=9

The time to take advantage of the Tax Credit is coming to an end.  I have heard rumors that this may be extended, but nothing to back it up as of yet.  Remember, you DO NOT have to be a First Time Buyer to take advantage of this.  Talk with your lender and they can tell you if you qualify. 

Interest rates are still great...today the rates were ranging between 5% and 5.125%.   Interest rates are credit score driven, so the better the credit, the better the rate.  FHA is changing some of their guidelines in April, so be sure to visit with your lender to find out what these will be and if they will affect any buying power that you have.

If you are Military, a First Responder, in the Medical Field, a Policeman or Firefighter, you may qualify for the Homes For Heroes Program.  This is my way of giving back to the ones who protect us and take care of us.  A great program...

Cheyenne Wyoming Real Estate Update!  Foreclosure Homes.  The real estate market in Cheyenne is quite robust at this time.  As Spring makes its approach, we are seeing more homes come on the market as families are anticipating Summer moves.  Maybe out of the area, or maybe to a new area in the City of Cheyenne. 

Many people see value in purchasing a Foreclosure Home, or a Bank-Owned REO home.  They feel that if the property is purchased below market value, they can do the necessary cosmetic repairs, and sometimes major repairs, needed to bring this home to Live-In condition. 

At this time in the Cheyenne MLS there is showing 42 Bank Owned properties. This includes single family, rural residential and condo/townhomes.  12 are currently under contract with pending sales.  Many of the Asset Companies that are selling these homes require a purchaser to pre-qualify with one of their preferred lenders.  The buyer does not have to use this lender, but they do need to jump through this hoop.  Also, these homes are sold in "AS-Is" condition.  The Asset company does no inspections, so it is up to the buyer to do inspections. 

A buyer of a Bank Owned property needs to be aware that there may be defects to the property that have

not been disclosed as the banks do no inspections.   It is advisable to do all inspections...(at buyers expense, of course) so that the buyer knows what kind of repairs will be needed.  Many lenders have a program to assist a buyer to get the addional onal funds necessary to fix the home. 

Not all Foreclosure homes are in bad condition.  Many are very nice, clean and need minimal work.  Others need a lot of TLC. 

If a Bank Owned/Foreclosure home is not what you are looking for, there are a lot of great homes available to choose from...

Cheyenne Wyoming Update.  It is offically Spring in Cheyenne Wyoming!!  Hmmmm...wonder where it went.  We got close to 6" of a nice, wet snow on Tuesday, and it was mostly gone by Wednesday.  Had a river in the street.  This time of year Cheyenne gets a lot of its percipitation in the form of these great wet snows.  We can look forward to more of these.  Seems like we usually get a wet storm as late as the first week of May, so don't put your winter clothes away yet. 

Tuesday, with the cold wind and wet snow, I thought it was just the time to visit one of my favorite restaurants.  So, I ventured out to The Pie Lady!!!   What wonderful pies, sandwiches and soups this place offers.  Over 20 different  specialty pies, and of course the standard favorite ones.

One can't go wrong visiting this great restaurant.  Not a chain, a small business unique to Cheyenne.  Please go by if you haven't already.  The Pie Lady is one of Cheyenne's best kept secrets...Open from 8-8 and closed on Sunday's and Monday's.

Cheyenne Wyoming Real Estate Update.  It's a Great Time to Buy a Home. Cheyenne is on the map as one of the best places to live and buy a home...We all know that!!! Check out cnnmoney.com....this states that Cheyenne is the #2 best place to buy a home.

Here is some of the information that the Cheyenne Board of Realtors sent to our members.... 

"Home price forecast (1 year):* 4.7%

The city has attracted some new employers in recent years, giving the local economy a boost. Cheyenne's job market is also tied to the city's status as state capital, which has kept area unemployment below the national rate.

Cheyenne was one of the few metro areas that recorded home price gains in the past three years, and population growth should help drive up home prices further. The number of city residents jumped by double digits during the 2000s and will probably do so again in the coming decade. That will provide a steady demand for housing, and prices are projected to grow by about 5.5% through 2012."

As Spring moves along, we should see the housing market continue to prosper.  There is an adequate number of homes available in all price ranges.  For the person who wants a challenged home, there are a number of foreclosed homes that affords this opportunity.  Some need a lot of work, some may only need some cosmetic repair. 

As of today, there are 394 Single family homes on the market and there are 105 homes currently under contract.  Since January 1st 2010,  163 homes have sold.  In the rural market, there are 167 available homes with 40 under contract, and 37 rural residential homes have sold and closed.

Many affordable home listings are coming on the market daily.  Visit www.Move2Cheyenne.com

to see all of the available homes.   This home is located at 916 Emerald Dr., just South of The Pointe Park. It boasts of 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, over-sized 2 car attached garage.  The back yard is fenced and has a delightful water feature.  A fenced dog run and a place to park your "outdoor toys"!  Located on a large corner lot, this home has been recently updated from top to bottom and has a huge master-suite addition.

 This home also qualifies for the Homes For Heroes Program.  Visit www.FEWarrenInfo.com or www.CheyenneHomesForHeroes.com  for more information on this program that assists the Military, Law Enforement, First Repsonders, and Medical personel to purchase a home affordably.

Are you About to Lose Your Home in Cheyenne to Foreclosure???????  In Cheyenne we are still seeing homes going into foreclosure.  There are options for homeowners that are facing this dilemma.   A short sale may be an option.  A short sale is where the lender is willing to take less than is owing on a home when the home sells.

Today, 1 out of every 10 homeowners in America is behind on their mortgage payments. These are tough and frustrating times. Now more than ever, it's important to identify your options. Foreclosure in Cheyenne can be avoided, your credit can be saved, and your financial future can be salvaged.

The success of a short sale depends on the knowledge and ability to work closely with lenders, banks and accountants. While short sales were virtually unheard of only a few years ago, now the majority of banks and lenders are negotiating and closing these transactions. They allow a homeowner with a legitimate hardship to sell their property for less than the balance of their
mortgages and avoid foreclosure. Banks want the right type of transaction with exactly the right paperwork.

Benefits of a Short Sale:
No additional funds required at closing. Avoid foreclosure and many times a judgment. Preserve their credit. Commissions and fees paid by lender.

What is a Short Sale?
A short sale is a negotiation in which the homeowner qualifies and the mortgage company or companies accept less than the full balance of the loan at closing. A relatively new solution to a financial crisis, the short sale has been used successfully in Laramie County as one of the last options before foreclosure. The short sale is one of the most important aspects in today's market and has been referred to as the "brain surgery of real estate."

A short sale requires a Certified Distressed Property Expert who understands the complexity of this process and the extensive documentation required.  Connie is one of the few agents with this designation and the ability to assist homeowners with this problem.

Through my experience handling distressed Cheyenne properties, I've found that homeowners today have more questions than answers about their circumstances. I have created this site ( www.CheyenneShortSales.com )to help you understand the possible solutions to foreclosure, as well as provide a detailed explanation of an option known as a "short sale", which may be the best course of action for some homeowners.

You may also have noticed that I'm offering you a FREE Report to explain your options and help you decide on a course of action. The idea of losing a home can be overwhelming, and I feel it is vital for you to have all the facts necessary to make an informed decision.  For more information and these free reports visit www.CheyenneShortSales.com 

Cheyenne Wyoming Christmas Parade.  Every year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Cheyenne has their famous Christmas Parade.  The first parade was in 1991 and had 90 floats, and a budget of $958.60!!!  This year, 2009, there will be 152 entries...what an increase.  Volunteers help with the setting up, as Parade Marshals, as Traffic Control, and the myriad of other things that need to be done to make this a huge success.

The Cheyenne Christmas Parade Committee is a group of volunteers who donate their time and talents to produce the Cheyenne Christmas parade.

The Christmas Craft Show at the Laramie County Library featuring thousands of handmade gifts and crafts.  And there will be a  Christmas Concert at the Civic Center. Wonderful entertainment for the whole family.

The parade was a great success again this year.  About 100 entries were there...including our Governor and his wife, and the Mayor and his wife.  The kids were having a great time, the floats were beautifully decorated.  The parade marshal's did a great job.  I think all had a great time. 

There was great food at the Masonic Temple.  They had home made Potato soup, Chili, Chicken Noodle soup and their FAMOUS Cinnamon Rolls....so big, so good and so many compliments on the food.  Hot chocolate, tea and coffee were available also.  I never go to the parade without stopping here, and buying my supper.  So well worth the minimal cost.

Please click on the button, and see the parade.....See you next year!    

TheCheyenne Downtown Merchants will have their stores open, so after the parade, wander through the stores and find some great and unique Christmas gifts for your family and friends, or maybe for yourself.  Shop Cheyenne for Christmas this year.  Support our local merchants.