Board of Contract Appeals
                 General Services Administration
                      Washington, D.C. 20405



                __________________________________

                    GRANTED: December 23, 1998
                __________________________________


                         GSBCA 14536-RELO


                 IN THE MATTER OF JOHN L. BRYAN
                                

John L. Bryan, Raymondville, MO, Claimant.

Kim R. Rodrigue, Travel & Transportation Section, National Finance Center, United States
Department of Agriculture, New Orleans, LA, appearing for Department of Agriculture.

HYATT, Board Judge.

    Claimant, John L. Bryan, was transferred in July 1995 from the Ava Ranger District of the
Mark Twain Forest, in Missouri, to the Salem Ranger District of the same forest.  Reimbursement
of residential real estate transaction expenses was authorized in connection with this relocation. 
After selling his residence at the old official duty station in October 1996, claimant paid a ten
percent brokerage commission in the amount of $8,200.  When the claim for reimbursement was
submitted, the National Finance Center (NFC) deemed the ten percent commission to be
excessive and limited reimbursement to a six percent fee.  Mr. Bryan submitted a reclaim, stating
that in the area of his old official duty station, the prevailing commission rate was in fact ten
percent.

    In support of his contention that the prevailing or customary commission rate was ten percent,
Mr. Bryan submitted copies of sales agreements with various realtors all showing a ten percent
commission.  He explained that his house was listed with seven agencies within a twenty mile
radius and all charged a ten percent commission.  In response to a suggestion from NFC, Mr.
Bryan attempted to obtain information concerning the prevailing commission rates for the area
from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), but he initially was not
successful.  Also at the suggestion of NFC he contacted local lending institutions and asked for
letters confirming that the ten percent commission was customary for that area.  Loan officers at
the banks he called agreed that the rate was customary for the area, but were reluctant to provide
letters because these agreements are between sellers and real estate agencies.  The loan officers
were willing to confirm by telephone if the NFC contacted them, however.  The agency agrees
that if a ten percent commission was shown to be customary in the local area the amount may be
reimbursed, but is not convinced that the proof presented of the prevailing commission rate
suffices.

    After filing a claim with the Board, Mr. Bryan requested the opportunity to seek assistance
from HUD once again.  On December 7, 1998, he submitted to the Board a copy of a letter he
received from HUD confirming that the ten percent commission he was charged was customary
for the area where his residence was located.
     
                           Discussion

    Under the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR), real estate brokers' fees paid by a transferred
employee in connection with the sale of a residence in the vicinity of the old duty station may be
reimbursed but not in excess of the rates customarily charged in the locality. 41 CFR 302-6.2(a)
(1995); James A. Fairley, B- 258932 (Sept. 19, 1995); Gene C. Nicko, B-232313 (Jan. 9, 1989). 
Given the evidence of record, which has been corroborated by the HUD office that monitors the
pertinent real estate market, and in the absence of any evidence to the contrary from claimant's
agency, we are persuaded that Mr. Bryan has demonstrated that a ten percent commission was the
prevailing rate in the locality. of his old duty station at the time he sold his residence.  As such,
Mr. Bryan is eligible to be reimbursed the full commission, subject, however, to the FTR's overall
limitation on reimbursement of real estate expenses.  That limitation provides that the total
amount of expenses that an employee may be reimbursed in connection with the sale of a house at
the old duty station may not exceed ten percent of the actual sale price of the house. 41 CFR 302-
6.2(g).  Thus, to the extent that Mr. Bryan may already have been reimbursed for expenses, other
than the broker's commission, in connection with the sale of his house, the reimbursement for the
commission must not, when added to reimbursements already received, exceed ten percent of the
actual sale price of the house.



                                                                                  CATHERINE B. HYATT
                                                                                   Board Judge