Brenda in Laramie

The beautiful state of Colorado is only 25 miles south of Laramie on Highway 287.  While Colorado is known for its wilderness and majestic mountain beauty, our family likes to head that way for an escape to urban civilization. This is the sign that greats us when we arrive at the border:      It'...

All right you people out there with your pictures of flowers and grass, butterflies and trees... Here in Laramie, Wyoming, we are showing signs of spring as well.  Ha!  I even have evidence of it, a photo of our lilac bush, today, May 3, 2011 with....wait for it...wait for it ......... a BUD!  An...

When I was a kid I remember going on endless country drives with my parents . Back then, I never understood the purpose and did not look forward to the boring explorations of the dusty back roads where we lived. Halfway through the drives, my brother and I usually ended up with our heads tilted a...

Life is ironic, isn't it.?!  I can't tell you how many late nights I have spent in my self-assigned role of Santa, Easter Bunny and even Leprechaun quietly creeping around in the dark and cold thinking "I can't wait until I don't have to do this anymore..." Well, now, I  officially don't have to....

Years ago, a friend of my parents married a girl from the south.  The kind of girl who'd never seen snow, a harsh winter, or frost in July.  She was a constant source of entertainment with her good-natured fascination of all things Wyoming.  One of the funniest things was when she finally demande...

I was startled by the oddest noise when I was walking across the parking lot this morning.  At first, I thought I was just hearing things, but . . . after I assured myself the sound was, indeed, real - I looked up and was surprised to see a formation of geese honking away and flying north throug...

One of the reasons I love first time buyers is that I remember ourselves and our first home hunting experience.  Long story short, this is how we thought it worked:  Find the house you want.                                Tell the bank how much you want to borrow.  The bank gives you the loan.  Y...

Most people like to do a bit of their own detective work when buying or selling a home.  With all the internet resources we have at our fingertips, you'd be crazy not to!  One of the most common sources of information people here come across is the Assessed Valuation of a property from the Albany...

Believe it or not, here in Laramie, Wyoming, there is very little relationship between current market value and assessed valuation.  Assessed valuation is the value the county assigns to a property as a basis from which to calculate  property taxes.  Every now and then the county estimate is very...

Today's topic, property taxes. Try to contain your excitement!  It seems like property taxes are usually an after thought, a number thrown in with and added to the mortgage.  However, next time you get your assessment notice for the upcoming year's taxes, you might want to pay it a little more th...