Don't Get Duped by Hidden Mortgage Fees

Shop around among probate lawyers. Although state law sets a maximum for probate legal fees based on the gross value of the estate, most probate lawyers will adjust their fees downward if you ask unless there are complications or a will contest involving the heirs.

DEAR BOB: Several days after we phoned our neighbor to ask him to quiet his barking dog, and to stop running his tractor and spewing carbon monoxide near my disabled daughter's room, he built a "spite fence." I live on a lake and had a nice view from my kitchen window for 28 years. What chance do I have to either remove part of the fence that blocks my lake view or cut it down by two feet? What recourse do I have? -- Elly W.

DEAR ELLY: Unless your city or county has a view-protection ordinance, you have no legal right to a view. However, if the neighbor's tall fence is defined by local ordinance as a spite fence, usually 6 feet or taller and built without a required building permit, you may have a legal right to have the fence removed. Consult a lawyer for details.

DEAR BOB: In 1988, my husband and I bought a house together. In 1994, we got divorced, and I removed his name from the title. We remarried in May 2006. I added his name back to the title. If we sell our home within a year and file our income tax returns jointly for 2006, can we claim the $500,000 home-sale tax deduction? -- Rita R.

DEAR RITA: Not yet. For your husband to qualify for an additional $250,000 principal-residence-sale tax exemption, Internal Revenue Code 121 says he must occupy the principal residence at least 24 of the 60 months before its sale.

However, he does not have to be on the title if he meets the 24-month principal-residence-occupancy test and you file a joint income tax return in the year of principal residence sale. Consult a tax adviser for details.

DEAR BOB: I am interested in finding out who is buying the house next door to mine. The sale is pending. Is there any way to learn other than asking the buyers or realty agents directly? -- Carole B.

DEAR CAROLE: No. Until a home sale closes and the title transfer is recorded, the real estate agents and the other parties handling the transfer cannot legally disclose who is buying the home. That is confidential information.

Nor can they reveal the purchase price without breaching their fiduciary duty to the seller and buyer. The only way to find out the buyer's name now is to ask the seller. But that individual doesn't have to disclose the buyer's name.

DEAR BOB: I feel the sellers from whom I bought my home did not disclose a material and expensive problem with the house. The neighbors tell me the previous owners tried extensive repairs over the years to remedy the problem but did not succeed. Is there any way I can learn the disclosures the sellers of my house were given when they bought? -- Diane S.

DEAR DIANE: No. You have no legal right to obtain the written disclosures made to your seller unless they are public information, such as local building permits, pest control inspection report, etc.

Of course, if there are any warranties, such as a 10-year roof warranty, you are entitled to the balance of the covered period. Consult a lawyer for details.