Board of Contract Appeals
                    General Services Administration
                         Washington, D.C. 20405
 
 
 
                       __________________________
 
                            October 21, 1998
                       __________________________
 
 
                            GSBCA 14675-RELO
 
 
                      In the Matter of JANET STERN
 
 
        Janet Stern, Alexandria, VA, Claimant.
 
        Gerald L. Matney,  Chief, Travel and Transportation,  Office
   of  Inspector General,  Department  of  Defense,  Arlington,  VA,
   appearing for Department of Defense.
 
   DeGRAFF, Board Judge.
 
        In mid-1997,  the Department  of  Defense (DoD)  transferred
   Janet Stern from Nashville, Tennessee to Arlington, Virginia.  In
   connection  with  the  transfer,  Ms.  Stern  sold  her  home  in
   Nashville and  asked DoD to  reimburse her for the  expenses that
   she incurred  in connection  with the sale.   DoD  reimbursed Ms.
   Stern for all of her claimed expenses, except the buyer s closing
   costs that she  paid.  DoD decided not to reimburse Ms. Stern for
   those costs  because it determined  that a seller s payment  of a
   buyer s closing  costs was  not customary in  the area  where Ms.
   Stern sold her home.  Ms. Stern asks us to review DoD s decision.
 
        Ms. Stern and DoD agree that, in order for DoD  to reimburse
   Ms.  Stern for  the  buyer s  closing costs  that  she paid,  the
   charges that she incurred must  be customarily paid by the seller
   of a residence at her old  official duty station.   This  is what
   the  regulations  that authorize  payment of  relocation expenses
   require.  41 CFR 302-6.2 (1997); Joint Travel Regulations C14002.
 
        In support of her position that it was customary for sellers
   to pay buyers' closing costs in the area where her former home is
   located,  Ms. Stern  offers a  letter from  a real  estate broker
   which addressed two issues.  First, the broker stated that it was
   the  common and  usual practice  for  sellers to pay some  of the
   costs incurred by  Ms. Stern that DoD initially  decided were not
   reimbursable.   After  receiving the  broker s  letter, DoD  paid
   those costs  and they are not at issue  here.  Second, the broker
   addressed Ms. Stern s payment of her buyer s closing costs: 
 
        The  Nashville market is strong in most areas; however,
        in  Area  8, which  is where  Ms. Stern s  property was
        located, the market was and is extremely slow.   Houses
        were staying  on the  market for approximately  2 to  3
        times  longer than  other market  areas, inventory  for
        resale homes was extremely high and competing against a
        large  inventory  of  new  construction   homes.    The
        inventory in Ms. Stern s  neighborhood alone was  17-20
        resale  homes and  these homes  were  remaining on  the
        market  for sale  for  2  to 3  times  longer than  the
        average days on the market.  Due to the large number of
        inventory of homes, the market time, and the incentives
        being  given by  the builders  it  was necessary  to be
        competitive in incentives as well as pricing.
 
   The  letter does  not say that  a seller s  payment of  a buyer s
   closing costs was the  common and usual practice  in the area. 
 
        DoD correctly denied  Ms. Stern s claim.  Ms.  Stern has the
   burden of establishing  that it was customary for  sellers in the
   locality of her former home to pay buyers  closing costs.  48 CFR
   6104.1(c) (1997).   The broker s letter explains that  sellers in
   Ms.  Stern s neighborhood  who wanted  to sell  their  homes more
   quickly than  they otherwise  might, could  decide to  offer some
   incentives  to prospective purchasers.   The letter  does not say
   that sellers customarily paid buyers  closing costs.  Because Ms.
   Stern  has not  established that  sellers in  the area  where her
   former home  is located  customarily paid  their buyers   closing
   costs, we agree with DoD s decision to deny Ms. Stern s claim for
   reimbursement.  
   __________________________________
 
                                      MARTHA H. DeGRAFF
                                      Board Judge