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date of the contract, rather than the closing date. The
purchaser agreed to lease back the property to the seller, for
agricultural purposes, for an annual cash rent of $2,500, which
was accomplished. At closing, the purchaser was credited an
amount of rent for the farm for the precise number of days from
execution of the contract to the closing date. Additionally, the
purchaser paid interest on his note to seller from the date of
the contract. Considering all the aforementioned facts, the
Fifth Circuit stated that the contract with the addendum and the
"conduct of the parties reveal that for all practical purposes *
* * [the purchaser] was possessed of the benefits and burdens of
ownership at the critical time [i.e., execution of the
contract]." Boykin v. Commissioner, supra, at 894.
In sharp contrast, the earnest money contract in the instant
case expressly provided:
taxes, flood and hazard insurance * * * , rents,
maintenance fees, interest on any assumed loan and any
prepaid unearned mortgage insurance premium which has
not been financed as part of any assumed loan * * *
shall be prorated through the Closing Date. If Buyer
elects to continue Seller’s insurance policy, it shall
be transferred at closing. [Emphasis added.]
Additionally, the contract provided that, if the Foxbriar
property was damaged or destroyed by fire or other casualty, the
Hewitts were to restore the property to its previous condition no
later than the closing date. In other words, until the time of
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