Comments on Allowability of Real Estate Expenses

GAO commented on the allowability of reimbursing the Comptroller for the Virgin Islands for real estate expenses he will incur in selling his newly constructed house after he is transferred to Washington, D.C. The Comptroller was transferred before he was able to establish residency in the house. GAO held that, while regulations state that the employee must be living at the dwelling when he is informed of his transfer in order to be eligible for reimbursement of such claims, the action of the agency in transferring the employee back to the United States has precluded the employee from establishing his residence in the newly constructed house. Accordingly, GAO would not object to the reimbursement of the selling expenses to the extent they are otherwise proper under Circular A-56.