Request for Reimbursement of Real Estate Expenses

An employee of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) requested reimbursement of expenses incurred during the purchase of a home. The employee was transferred from Boston, where he sold his residence, to Miami, where he purchased a new residence. Expenses requested for reimbursement included: (1) roof inspection, (2) cost of cashier's check, (3) lender's attorney fees, (4) flood insurance, (5) lender's title policy, (6) owner's title policy, and (7) buyer's attorney fees. Since roof inspection was required as a precondition for obtaining financing in the Miami area, the fee is viewed as a required service under Federal travel regulations (FTR). The employee may be reimbursed for roof inspection. Since the cost of obtaining a cashier's check was not enumerated as an allowable expense under FTR, the cost of said check was not reimbursable. The employee had already been reimbursed for the lender's attorney fees. Therefore, no action was necessary on this item. FTR specifically precludes reimbursement for cost of insurance against damage or loss of property; thus the employee may not be reimbursed for the cost of flood insurance. The employee may be reimbursed for the cost of lender's title policy but may not be reimbursed for the cost of the owner's title policy, since there was no evidence that the employee was legally required to obtain such a policy in connection with the purchase of the residence in Miami. However, the employee may be reimbursed for legal fees paid to his own attorney, since it is customary for a purchaser to be represented by his own attorney as well as pay for the legal services rendered by the lender's attorney, provided such charges are within the customary range of fees in the Miami area. Accordingly, the reclaim voucher submitted was returned to DEA with permission to certify it for payment in accordance with the views of GAO.