Claim for Reimbursement of Real Estate Expenses Incurred Incident to Sale of Residence

The issue presented in this appeal was whether an employee whose permanent duty station was Fort Rucker, Alabama, but who maintained a residence in Orlando, Florida, 373 miles away, to which he traveled on weekends and holidays may be reimbursed expenses for the sale of the residence in Orlando upon transfer to Palmdale, California. Regulations authorize reimbursement for the expenses of residence transactions incident to a transfer involving a residence "from which that employee commutes to and from work" and limits the exception to this requirement to those cases in which an employee is assigned to a remote area where family housing is unavailable. Since there was no indication that Fort Rucker could be considered a remote area, payment of the claim was not to be made. Accordingly, the previous settlement disallowing the claim was sustained.