[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 41, Volume 4]
[Revised as of July 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 41CFR302-6.3]

[Page 162-163]
 
           TITLE 41--PUBLIC CONTRACTS AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
 
                   CHAPTER 302--RELOCATION ALLOWANCES
 
PART 302-6--ALLOWANCE FOR EXPENSES INCURRED IN CONNECTION WITH RESIDENCE TRANSACTIONS--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 302-6.3  Procedural and control requirements.

    (a) Application for reimbursement and documentation of expenses. 
Employees shall be furnished appropriate forms for claiming 
reimbursement for expenses of real estate transactions. Agencies shall 
prescribe a claim application form which meets internal administrative 
requirements. The form should include the most commonly incurred items 
of expense for which reimbursement may be claimed and any necessary 
administrative approval blocks. Amounts claimed must be supported by 
documentation showing that the expense was in fact incurred and paid by 
the employee. Included in the required supporting documents (as 
appropriate) are copies of (1) the sales agreement, (2) the purchase 
agreement, (3) property settlement documents, (4) loan closing 
statements, and (5) invoices or receipts for other bills paid. An 
appropriate voucher shall be prepared by the employee and used in 
transmitting the claim application with supporting attachments. 
Reimbursement may be in two parts; i.e., a payment for expenses incurred 
in the sale of the former residence and a payment for expenses incurred 
in the purchase of a new dwelling.
    (b) Review and administrative approval of sale and purchase 
expenses. Applications shall be reviewed by a responsible official of 
the agency. The application for reimbursement of expenses for the sale 
of a residence shall be sent to the claimant's old official station for 
review and approval of the claim unless agency review and approval 
functions are performed elsewhere. In case of transfer between agencies, 
review and approval of the application shall be made, if appropriate, at 
an installation of the hiring agency in the locality of the employee's 
old official station, but if the hiring agency has no appropriate 
installation, it shall be sent to the losing agency at the old official 
station for review and approval. This review and approval are intended 
to be limited to determining whether the expenses claimed are reasonable 
in amount and customarily paid by the seller in the locality where the 
property is located.

[[Page 163]]

If items of cost appear to have been inflated or are higher than 
normally imposed for similar services in the locality, any portion of 
such costs determined to be excessive shall be disallowed. When 
approved, the application shall be returned with such memorandum of 
explanation as may be appropriate. A similar review and approval are 
required in connection with an application for reimbursement of the 
expenses of the purchase of a new dwelling. Final administrative 
approval of payment of the claim must be executed by an appropriate 
approving official. Such official may accept as conclusive the required 
prior approvals covering reasonableness and custom; he/she shall, 
however, in accordance with the provisions of this part, independently 
determine whether (1) the aggregate amount of expenses claimed in 
connection with a sale or purchase of a residence is within the 
prescribed limitation for either, (2) all conditions and requirements 
under which allowances may be paid have been met, and (3) the expenses 
themselves are those which are reimbursable. The employee's claim 
accompanied by the application and supporting documents shall be 
completed and submitted in accordance with the usual procedures of the 
agency concerned.
    (c) Assistance provided by local offices of the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development. Technical assistance in determining the 
reasonableness of an expense may be obtained from the local or area 
office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) serving 
the area in which the expense occurred. The local office maintains and 
can furnish upon request a current Form HUD-92496, Schedule of Closing 
Costs, applicable to the area. This is a schedule of closing costs 
typically encountered in connection with the purchase and sale of single 
family properties in the locality. For the purpose of determining 
whether the expenses claimed are reasonable and may be approved for 
reimbursement, these closing costs should be used as guidelines and not 
as rigid limitations. The local office will also furnish upon request 
information concerning local custom and practices with respect to 
charging of closing costs related to either a sale or purchase, 
including information as to whether such costs are customarily paid by 
the seller or purchaser and the local terminology used to describe them. 
Area or insuring offices of HUD are located in all major cities. The 
mailing addresses for these offices are included in the U.S. Government 
Manual, published annually by the Office of the Federal Register, 
National Archives and Records Administration. A directory containing the 
addresses of all such offices (HUD Form 788) is available at any HUD 
office.
    (d) Violation of employment agreement. In the event the employee 
violates the terms of the agreement required under Sec. 302-1.5, no 
expenses will be paid, and any amounts paid prior to such violation 
shall be a debt due the United States until they are paid by the 
employee.

[54 FR 20321, May 10, 1989, as amended by FTR Amdt. 26, 57 FR 28635, 
June 26, 1992]