April 2, 2007


                          CBCA 523-RELO


                  In the Matter of MARK T. GRACE


     Mark T. Grace, Rockford, IL, Claimant.

     Susan Hooks, Associate Counsel, Defense Contract Management Agency, St. Louis,
MO, appearing for Department of Defense.

GOODMAN, Board Judge. 

     Claimant is a civilian employee of the Department of the Army, Defense Contract
Management Agency (DCMA).  He has asked this Board to review the agency's denial of
certain expenses incurred during his permanent change of station (PCS).

                       Factual Background

     Claimant was issued travel orders for a PCS move from McAlester, Oklahoma, to
Rockford, Illinois, to report to his new duty station on April 30, 2006.  He purchased a
residence at his new duty station and submitted a voucher for reimbursement of real estate
expenses incurred for that transaction.  The agency denied reimbursement of the survey costs
claimed in the amount of $500.  Claimant has requested review of the agency's decision.

                            Discussion

     Applicable regulations permit the reimbursement of the cost of making surveys and
the cost of preparing drawings or plats "when required for legal or financing purposes."  41
CFR 302-11.200(d) (2006); Joint Travel Regulation (JTR) C14002-A.3; see Jack E.
Hudson, GSBCA 16053-RELO, 03-2 BCA  32,351; Cecilia McNicoll, GSBCA
15377-RELO, 02-1 BCA  31,746; accord Dale W. Stakes, GSBCA 14613-RELO, 98-2
BCA  29,976.

     While there is no dispute that claimant actually paid for the survey, the agency
contends that claimant has not met his remaining burden.  The agency states that the survey
was not required for a legal or financing purpose.  Claimant submitted a letter from the title
insurance company which stated that claimant requested the survey to determine if his
neighbor's fence encroached on his property so that he could obtain title insurance.  The
survey for which claimant paid indicated that the neighbor's fence was on the property line
and did not encroach on claimant's property. 

     The Board requested claimant to respond to the following inquiry:

     Was the survey and the title insurance which was procured in conjunction
     with the survey a requirement of the lender for permanent financing or for
     lender's title insurance or strictly for owner's title insurance?

     If the survey was for owner's title insurance, was that policy a prerequisite to
     financing or the transfer of the property or was the cost inseparable from any 
     lender's  insurance which was a prerequisite for financing?

     Claimant responded as follows:

     The survey was not identified as a lender prerequisite for financing and was
     not identified as lender title insurance prerequisite and was not identified as
     a prerequisite for owner title insurance.  The situation was resolved prior to
     the need for action.  There were no property boundary discrepancies identified
     in the survey and corrections to title documentation were not required. . . . 
     The survey provided details on the area of concern.  The survey dispelled
     suspicion that [the] adjacent property owner had exceeded [the] property
     boundary.  The survey confirmed that adjacent property owner had
     constructed a fence line that was "on the property line" but was in compliance
     with legal property description.
 
     Claimant has not demonstrated that the survey was required for a legal purpose.
While claimant caused the survey to be performed to relieve himself of the suspicion that
the adjacent property owner's fence had encroached on the property he wished to purchase,
the lender did not require the survey as a prerequisite for financing, title insurance, or any
other purpose.  Under these circumstances, claimant is not entitled to reimbursement of the
survey costs.

                            Decision

     The claim is denied.




                                   ___________________________________
                                   ALLAN H. GOODMAN
                                   Board Judge