|CHAPTER��14�-�REAL�ESTATE�TRANSACTION�AND�UNEXPIRED�LEASE�EXPENSE�ALLOWANCES�(FTR�PART�302-6)
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| | CHAPTER� 14 - REAL ESTATE TRANSACTION AND UNEXPIRED LEASE EXPENSE ALLOWANCES (FTR PART 302-6) | 
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| | C14000� GENERAL | 
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| | A.� Conditions.� | 
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| | An eligible employee is entitled to reimbursement for certain expenses incurred in connection with: | 
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| | 1.the sale of a residence at the old PDS;� and� | 
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| | 2.the purchase (including construction) of a residence at the new PDS; or� | 
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| | 3.the settlement of an unexpired lease involving the residence or a lot on which a mobile home used as a residence was located at the old PDS,� | 
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| | after the employee has signed the required transportation agreement, and: | 
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| | 1.a PCS is authorized/approved and, except as provided in subpar. C, the old and new PDS are located in nonforeign areas;� | 
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| | 2.the dwelling at the old PDS is the employee's actual residence at the time first informed by appropriate authority that transfer to a new PDS was definite;� | 
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| | 3.the settlement dates for the sale (or lease termination) and purchase are within the time limitation prescribed in subpar. B;� | 
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| | 4.the residence (which may be a mobile home and/or the lot on which that mobile home is located or is to be located) is the one from which the employee regularly commutes to and from work. (Note:� If the PDS is in a remote area where adequate family housing isn't available within reasonable commuting distance, a residence includes the dwelling where the employee's dependents reside or will reside, but only if such residence reasonably relates to the PDS as determined by the travel-approving official concerned.) | 
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| | NOTE:� See par. C1057 to authorize an extension on the time limitation on residence transactions. | 
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| | B.Time Limit for Residence or Lease Termination Transactions.� | 
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| | Except as provided herein, settlement for the sale, purchase, or lease termination transactions must be not later than 2 years after the date the employee reports for duty at the new PDS.� Effective 19 Feb 1988 for employees eligible under subpar. C, the new PDS is the PDS to which the employee reports for duty when reassigned or transferred from a foreign area.� The 2-year period begins the day after the employee reports for duty and ends on the second anniversary of the reporting date.� (For example, if an employee reported for duty on 20 October 1992, settlement must be no later than 20 October 1994.)� Upon an employee's written request, the 2-year period may be extended by the commanding officer (or designee) of the activity bearing the cost for up to an additional 1 year.� The employee's written request should be submitted to the appropriate authority as soon as the employee becomes aware of the need for an extension within the initial 2-year period.� A request, submitted later than 30 calendar days after the expiration date, shall not be acted upon unless this 30-day period is specifically extended by the commanding officer of the activity bearing the cost.� An� extension must be based on a determination that extenuating circumstances have prevented the employee from completing the sale and purchase or lease termination transactions within the initial 2-year period and that the transactions are reasonably related to the PCS.� (For an employee who reported on 20 October 1992 and is granted an extension to the 2-year period, settlement may be no later than 20 October 1995.� Costs for transactions completed after the 3-year period may not be reimbursed� (B-191018, December 26, 1978)).� This paragraph is effective for employees whose effective date of transfer (see Appendix A) is on or after 1 October 1982.�� | 
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| | (Note: There is no authority to waive the 3 year time limitation under any circumstances.� The time limitation is imposed in � 302-6.1 (e) in the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR), which has the force and effect of law (B-245281, February 20, 1992)). | 
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| | C.� Transfer From a Foreign Area to a Nonforeign Area | 
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| | 1.Definitions.� | 
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| | The following definitions apply for the purposes of this subparagraph: | 
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| | a.Former Nonforeign Area PDS.� | 
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| | The PDS from which the employee was transferred when assigned to a foreign area PDS. | 
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| | b.Nonforeign Area.� | 
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| | The United States, the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, or the former Canal Zone area (i.e., areas and installations in the Republic of Panama made available to the United States pursuant to the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 and related agreements (as described in section 3(a) of the Panama Canal Act of 1979)). | 
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| | c.Foreign Area.� | 
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| | Any area not defined as a nonforeign area. | 
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| | 2.� Applicability.� | 
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| | An employee who has completed an agreed upon tour of duty in a foreign area and, instead of being returned to the former nonforeign area PDS, is reassigned/transferred in the Government's interest to a nonforeign area PDS other than the one from which transferred when assigned to the foreign PDS is entitled to reimbursement under this Chapter.� The distance between the former and new nonforeign PDSs� must meet the distance criteria specified in par. C4108 for change of station within the same city or area. | 
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| | 3.Reimbursable Expenses.� | 
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| | Expenses incurred incident to the following transactions are reimbursable: | 
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| | a.residence sale (or the settlement of an unexpired lease) at the PDS from which the employee was transferred when assigned to a foreign area PDS; and/or | 
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| | b.residence purchase at the new PDS. | 
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| | It isn't necessary for an employee to be reimbursed the expenses in item a to be eligible for reimbursement for expenses in item b. | 
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| | 4.Limitations.� | 
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| | Expenses incident to a sale (or settlement of an unexpired lease) or purchase transaction that occurs prior to the employee being officially notified (ordinarily in the form of PCS orders) that instead of returning to the former nonforeign area PDS, reassignment/transfer is to be to a different nonforeign area PDS may not be reimbursed. | 
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| | 5.Service Agreement Required.� | 
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| | A signed service agreement as prescribed in par. C4103 is required for reimbursement of residence transaction expenses authorized under this paragraph. | 
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| | D.� Sale of Residence in Anticipation of Transfer | 
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| | 1.Following Announcement of Base Closure. | 
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| | An employee may be reimbursed for real estate expenses incurred before, and in anticipation of, a transfer if a clearly evident administrative intent exists, at the time the expenses are incurred, to transfer the employee (58 Comp. Gen. 208 (1979)).� The announcement of a base closure, accompanied by an offer to assist in finding new positions for affected employees, is a clearly evident intent to transfer those employees (B-249451, January 7, 1993).� Registering an employee in Priority Placement Program (PPP) constitutes an offer to assist in finding a new position.� An employee, registered in the PPP or other placement program, who sells a residence in anticipation of a PCS, may be reimbursed for residence sale expenses when transferred to a new PDS, if otherwise eligible under this Chapter. Employees should be cautioned that they are eligible for reimbursement of real estate expenses only if subsequently employed in a position that involves a PCS.� If the PCS is to an OCONUS location, reimbursement for the expenses may be made only after the employee completes a tour of duty at the OCONUS PDS and subsequently is transferred to a different nonforeign location as indicated in subpar. C. | 
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| | 2.Employee Officially Notified of Return to a Different Nonforeign Area PDS.� | 
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| | An employee who, incident to a PCS to a foreign area from a PDS in a nonforeign area, is officially notified that return will be to a different nonforeign area PDS, may sell the residence at the former nonforeign area PDS and be reimbursed real estate expenses under this Chapter, if otherwise eligible, upon completion of a tour of duty in the foreign area and subsequent transfer to a different nonforeign area PDS.� Reimbursement shall not be allowed for any real estate transaction that occurs prior to official notification that the employee's return would be to a PDS other than the one from which transferred to the foreign post of duty.� Reimbursement may not be made until the employee is transferred back to a PDS in a nonforeign area.� Reimbursement may not be made incident to the transfer to the foreign post of duty, even though the employee officially is notified at that time that return will not be to the same PDS after the completion of the foreign assignment.� Travel orders ordinarily constitute official notification (B-249184, March 5, 1993). | 
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| | E.� General | 
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| | 1.Title Requirements. | 
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| | The title to the residence or dwelling at the old or new PDS, or the interest in a cooperatively owned dwelling or in an unexpired lease, must be in the name of the employee alone, jointly in the names of the employee and one or more dependent(s), or solely in the name of one or more dependent(s). | 
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| | 2.Title Interest Must Have Been Acquired Prior to Notification of Transfer.� | 
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| | At the old PDS, the employee's property interest must have been acquired prior to the date the employee first was notified officially of transfer to the new PDS.� In the case of an employee covered by subpar. C, the employee's interest must have been acquired prior to the date the employee was first notified officially of transfer to the foreign area. | 
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| | a.� Legal Title Interest.� | 
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| | Except as provided in subpar. b, title to the residence is determined by the name of the party (or parties) on the title document (e.g., the deed). | 
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| | b.Equitable Title Interest.� | 
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| | An employee, and/or a dependent(s), in a situation described in subpars. (1) through (5) is deemed to have title to the residence whether or not named on the title document. | 
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| | (1)Title Held In Trust.� The property is held in trust and: | 
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| | (a)the property is the employee's residence as described in par. C14000-A, item 4;� | 
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| | (b)the employee and/or dependent(s) are the only beneficiary(ies) of the trust;� | 
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| | (c)the employee and/or dependent(s) retain the right to distribute the property for life;� | 
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| | (d)the employee and/or dependent(s) retain the right to manage the property;� | 
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| | (e)the employee and/or dependent(s) are the only grantor/settler of the trust, or retain the right to direct distribution of the property upon dissolution of the trust or death; and� | 
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| | (f)the employee provides the DOD component concerned with a copy of the trust document. | 
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| | (2)� Title Held by Financial Institution.� The title is held in the name of a financial institution and; | 
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| | (a)the property is the employee's residence as described in par. C14000-A, item 4;� | 
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| | (b)the employee and/or a dependent(s) executed a financing agreement (e.g., mortgage) with the financial institution;� | 
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