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1 F.3d 502 (7th Cir. 1993), and Lang v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo.
1993-474, this Court analyzed similar condominium transactions
and found that section 483 did not apply because the time between
the sale date and the first installment was less than 6 months.
Under the facts in those cases it was found that the initial
agreement, although entered into more than 6 months before the
first installment, constituted an option and not a sale.
In Benedict v. United States, 881 F. Supp. 1532 (D. Utah
1995), the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah also
analyzed a similar condominium transaction and found that section
483 did apply because the time between the sale and first
installment was more than 6 months. In that case, the court
found that the buyer acquired an equitable interest, and that the
benefits and burdens of ownership passed to the buyer upon
execution of the initial informal agreement. Factual differences
exist between prior Tax Court cases and the Benedict case.
Moreover, the consolidated cases now before this Court have
significant factual differences from all of the above-cited
cases.
In their consideration of when the sale occurred, the courts
characterized their task as a factual one.6 In reaching their
ultimate factual findings, the courts were guided by Utah law.
6The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit expressed
the view that the case presented a mixed question of fact and
law, but there was no disagreement about the standard being
followed. Williams v. Commissioner, 1 F.3d 502, 505 (7th Cir.
1993), affg. T.C. Memo. 1992-269.
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