This class will study the various forms of real estate financing, including conventional mortgage financing, hybrid debt-equity financing and "off-balance sheet" financing. The focus of the seminar is the structuring of complex real estate transactions with emphasis on the tax and accounting results. We will consider the economic and tax effect of various forms of real estate financing on owners, users and lenders and analyze major tax issues, including (a) distinctions between equity and debt, (b) distinctions between ownership and leasing, (c) original issue discount problems, (d) Section 467 rent agreement problems, and (e) tax-free exchange problems. We will also analyze major accounting issues, including (a) FASB No. 13 relating to off-balance sheet treatment of financing, (b) FASB Nos. 66 and 98 relating to accounting treatments of a sale of real estate and (c) the "synthetic" lease. We will also cover the various forms of ownership of real estate, including limited partnerships and REITs . Seminar paper is required and will be an in-depth study and analysis of complex tax and accounting issues. PREREQUISITE : Introduction to Federal Income Taxation. LIMITED WRITING REQUIREMENT OPTION: A limited number of students may be permitted to satisfy the upper-class writing requirement with the approval of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. NOTE: This seminar satisfies the upper-class professional skills requirement. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar, or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, will be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who waitlist for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.

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