Claim for Reimbursement of Real Estate Expenses

A Federal employee appealed a prior decision which disallowed his claim for reimbursement of real estate sale expenses. The employee transferred from Tacoma, Washington, to Portland, Oregon, and then from Portland to Lakewood, Colorado. The employee did not sell his Tacoma residence until more than 2 years after the effective date of his transfer from Tacoma to Portland. The claimant argued that the 2-year time period for reimbursement of real estate expenses should have been extended because of his subsequent transfer to Lakewood. Federal Travel Regulations provide that the settlement date on a residence transaction must occur not later than 2 years after the date on which the employee reported for duty at his new station. A series of transfers within a short period of time does not provide a basis to extend the 2-year maximum time period for reimbursement. The employee further argued that the expenses for selling his Tacoma residence should have been reimbursed because it served as his residence at his old station of Portland after his second transfer to Lakewood. The claimant's Tacoma residence could be regarded as his residence at his old official station of Portland only if he regularly commuted between his duty station in Portland and his residence in Tacoma. Since the employee did not regularly commute, that residence did not qualify for reimbursement of real estate expenses incident to his transfer from Portland to Lakewood. Accordingly, the employee could not be reimbursed for the real estate expenses from the sale of his Tacoma residence.