12:21 PM CDT on Tuesday, May 6, 2008 By BOB MOOS / The Dallas Morning News bmoos@dallasnews.com Baby boomers' growing desire to retire to small towns is turning the Texas Hill Country into one of the nation's hot spots for the silver-haired set. The natural beauty and relative affordability of the area west of Austin and San Antonio have put towns such as Fredericksburg, Kerrville and Marble Falls on national lists of popular retirement places. "The secret's out," said Frederick Day, a demographer at Texas State University-San Marcos. "If you're approaching retirement, head for the hills." ERICH SCHLEGEL/DMN Jim and Pam Spruiell went from a duplex in Dallas to 30 acres and a 3,700-suare-foot limestone house just west of Fredericksburg when they eased into retirement. View larger More ph... 05/10/2008

1)  Did you know.... That if the seller has an FHA loan , HUD is not allowing lenders to negotiate a short sale and pay closing cost for the buyer.  If the lender allows closing cost paid for the buyer, FHA will not cover that part of the cost in the insurability/ reimbursement of the loan back to the lender.2)  Did you know... The IRS can tax the amount forgiven on a short sale?  Read below. For homeowners who are seriously delinquent on their mortgages and hoping for relief, the Internal Revenue Service has bad news: If your lender agrees to modify your loan and forgive any of your debt, you could owe federal income tax on the amount forgiven.Think of it as the tax code's "kick 'em while they're down" rule. When personal debts are canceled by a creditor, the amount forgiven is treated... 05/09/2007