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the building with his brother-in-law, Ayala. He stated that
Ayala had already filed his taxes without claiming any interest
deduction and that Ayala told petitioner to claim the whole
amount in petitioners' names. Petitioner claimed at trial that
he personally wrote checks to the mortgage company but that the
documents he needed to substantiate the deduction were in the
office of the bankruptcy trustee for LIC.
Subsequent to trial, we granted the parties' Joint Motion to
Reopen Record so that petitioners could obtain the documents to
substantiate the interest payments and the other issues in this
case. The parties filed a second stipulation of facts and
submitted documents in an attempt to substantiate the interest
payments for the Mt. Pleasant property. The documents included
an appraisal report prepared for "Mr. Fernando Leonzo Latin
Investment Corporation", a 1990 bank statement addressed to
petitioner and Ayala regarding the interest rate on an
unspecified loan, a $4,000 check from Ayala to petitioner dated
December 12, 1988, and receipts with respect to the property.
Petitioners' documents do not establish that petitioners
owned the Mt. Pleasant property or that petitioners made
payments, interest or otherwise, on the property. Additionally,
the 1989 Form 1098 from the bank names Ayala, not petitioners, as
the borrower. In any event, any interest petitioners paid on the
Mt. Pleasant property does not qualify as home interest.
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