[Reimbursement for Real Estate Expenses]

An Air Force official requested an advance decision concerning an employee's claim for real estate expenses in connection with the purchase of his new residence incident to a permanent change of station. The issue is whether a purchaser may be reimbursed for real estate expenses paid on behalf of the seller when it is common for the purchaser to pay such costs, but the practice is not an established custom. GAO stated that, although it may be common for a buyer to pay the expenses in question, the local Housing and Urban Development office determined that it was customary for the seller to pay such costs in that particular area. Accordingly, the employee's claim was denied.