In the end, due to the "great news" they found, they ended up not installing an overhead sewer line or digging out front to attach the downspouts to the mainline in front of our house, but instead, redirected some of the existing piping and doing an edited version of the proposed plan that more heavily used the intact mainline under the house.The end result has seemed to be a resolution to the problem (so the ultimate purpose of the work was achieved), but with what I would estimate to be about 50-70% of the total proposed work.

I would simply say to them that I've never dealt with this situation before and so I'm unsure of how to resolve this situation so I would ask her opinion on how she would like you to help and see if the resolution is viable and feasible.

This will bring you some resolution.

Any resolutions?

When you say your wife does not want to sell it to you, I'm not sure what you mean - if you're divorced, there was (I assume) some resolution on ownership of the house & responsibility for the mortgage? 

Yes, the neighboring homes being hot is exasperating the issue, but I'm thinking I can show some goodwill (and hopefully provide resolution) by having the unit serviced. 

I have a masters degree in accounting and operate a tax prep and tax resolution (I am an Enrolled Agent) office as well. 

Once your loan goes through loss mitigation and if there is no resolution then the bank will either foreclose or sell your loan in a very large pool to a hedge fund. 

---The Oakland City Council is scheduled Tuesday to decide on a resolution proposed by Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney that would establish a city loan program to help “distressed low-income homeowners” evict their tenants when the landlord or relative wants to occupy the property.Under this proposal, co-sponsored by Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, the city would set aside $300,000 “to make available no-interest loans” to “cash-strapped” landlords to help them pay city-required relocation payments to tenants they are evicting.http://www.oaklandpost.org/2018/07/06/councilmembe...

Thanks for your insight and keeping my hopes high for a resolution.