Q: A friend of mine directed me to a Web site operated by a “mortgage elimination” company. I’m not exactly sure how the program works, but I would apparently be required to pay a few thousand dollars in upfront fees, and the company would then get the mortgage eliminated by challenging its validity in court. Are these loan-elimination programs legitimate or some kind of scam?

A: I can’t specifically comment on the program you’re asking about because you didn’t give me the company’s name or Internet address. But the California-based sponsors of at least one such program – operating under the names Dorean Group, Oxford Trust and Universal Trust – recently were hauled into court by federal prosecutors for allegedly running what the government calls a “fraudulent mortgage-elimination scheme” that may have bilked homeowners across the nation out of millions of dollars.

According to the government lawsuit, Dorean Group would charge each homeowner an upfront fee of about $3,000 and then “begin the ‘mortgage elimination’ process by recording various false documents with the county recorder’s office in the county where the property is located.”

After the blizzard of questionable paperwork was filed, the homeowners allegedly then would be encouraged to refinance their homes, take out cash based on their built-up equity and split the proceeds with Dorean Group. Real estate lawyers say that borrowers who sign up for such programs run the risk of losing their home through foreclosure, clouding the legal title to their property and could even face criminal charges.

Dorean Group officials deny any wrongdoing. But the government’s lawsuit should put homeowners on notice that at least some mortgage-elimination programs aren’t all they’re cracked up to be and that their results are far from guaranteed.

Q: We have agreed to buy our first home. The home inspector seems to have done a very thorough job, but he said we also have to hire a special “pest inspector” to look for termites and other wood-eating pests. Isn’t this something that should be included as part of the home inspector’s fee?

A: No, most general home inspectors don’t look for damage caused by termites or other wood-destroying agents. They instead leave the job to pest specialists, much like a general medical practitioner would refer a patient with a unique problem to a specialist in the field.

Damage caused by termites and other pests can be extremely hard to detect and very expensive to repair. As a result, most lenders won’t approve a loan until a qualified pest inspector has examined the property.

Ordering a separate pest inspection likely will cost between $200 and $400, but that’s a small price to pay if it helps you to avoid purchasing a property with serious problems.

Q: My boyfriend and I are selling the home that we have lived in for the past nine years. Both of us are on the home’s title, and we each pay half the monthly mortgage and take half the annual deductions for interest and property taxes. How will our resale profit be taxed?

A: Internal Revenue Code 121 allows unmarried people who file their taxes singly to each keep up to $250,000 of their home-sale profit tax-free, provided that the home has been their primary residence for at least two of the five years before the sale. Married couples who file their taxes jointly can keep up to $500,000.

Your letter states that you and your boyfriend have lived in the home for the past nine years, so you obviously meet the two-out-of-five-year requirement. As a result, you should be able to keep up to $250,000 of your own share of the profit tax-free, and your friend can do likewise.

To illustrate, say the home is sold for a net profit of $270,000 and the gain is split down the middle. Neither you nor your boyfriend would owe any tax on the profit because each individual’s share would be $135,000 – well below the $250,000 limit for single tax filers.

But if the home was sold for a $600,000 profit, providing each of you with a $300,000 gain, you would each owe tax on the $50,000 that exceeded the federal $250,000 limit for singles.

We’re talking about a lot of money here, so you and your friend should consult an accountant or other tax expert before the sale is finalized. Also order a free copy of IRS Publication 523, “Selling Your Home,” by calling the agency at (800) 829-3676 or by downloading the document at www.irs.gov on the Internet.

– David W. Myers is a 20-year veteran of the newspaper and magazine business, having previously covered real estate for the Los Angeles Times and Investor’s Business Daily.