[Claim for Real Estate Expenses for Shared Property]

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) requested a decision regarding a transferred employee's claim for reimbursement for real estate expenses he incurred in purchasing a residence. USDA advised that: (1) the claimant's nondependent brother co-signed the purchase loan, and the loan's deed of trust described the claimant and his brother as joint tenants; (2) the recorded property deed identified the claimant and his brother as tenants-in-common and delineated the claimant's undivided financial interest at 95 percent; and (3) it limited reimbursement of the claimant's allowable real estate expenses to 50 percent. GAO held that the claimant was entitled to reimbursement for 95 percent of the allowable expenses, since the property deed established his financial interest in the property. Accordingly, the claim was allowed.