[Army Employee's Claim for Real Estate Expense]

A transferred civilian Army employee claimed reimbursement for a mortgage credit certificate application fee she incurred incident to purchasing a residence at her new duty station, contending that the fee constituted a reimbursable real estate expense. GAO held that the: (1) federal travel regulations (FTR) did not identify the fee as a reimbursable expense; (2) fee was not required to obtain a mortgage loan; and (3) fee was not similar in nature to loan application fees that were reimbursable under FTR. Accordingly, the claim was denied.