Environmental due diligence
Phase I Environmental Site Assessments, SBA environmental reports, screens and building surveys for lenders, buyers, brokers and attorneys, on properties nationwide. Every Phase I is signed by an Environmental Professional who meets 40 CFR 312.10.
Y Combinator
Published prices. No payment online.
See all services and pricingPhase I ESA at a glance
$1,495 flat for a standard-scope property: one parcel, up to 5 acres, up to 3 buildings and 50,000 square feet in total, with no heavy industrial or manufacturing use. Multiple parcels need a scope review and a fixed quote before you authorize; other properties outside these limits get a fixed quote within 1 business hour.
5 business days from authorization and confirmed site access with a knowledgeable contact. Rush: 3 business days for $400 more.
SBA will review an otherwise compliant Phase I dated within one year of the date the SBA loan number is issued. Under EPA’s rule, 5 components must be conducted or updated within 180 days before you acquire the property and all other work within one year, both counted from the dates of the work, not the report date.
ASTM E1527-21, which 40 CFR 312.11 lists as a way to meet EPA’s All Appropriate Inquiries rule and SBA names as its Phase I standard.
An Environmental Professional who meets 40 CFR 312.10, with the two declarations required by 40 CFR 312.21(d). The report states their qualifications.
Sampling of soil, groundwater, soil vapor or indoor air (that is a Phase II); asbestos, lead-based paint, lead in drinking water or radon surveys unless you order them; mold surveys; an ASTM E2600 vapor encroachment screen; wetlands, endangered species, cultural resources or NEPA reviews; and the environmental lien and activity and use limitation search, which ASTM E1527-21 leaves to you (send us the results).
Nationwide. A qualified local field professional, booked when you authorize, makes the site visit under the Environmental Professional’s supervision.
Reliance for your lender is included, and so is the SBA’s Appendix 5 reliance letter, which SOP 50 10 8.1 requires with every Phase I on an SBA loan. Each additional reliance party is $99, with the letter issued within 1 business day of a complete request. If your lender requires an EDR, ERIS or Environsite radius report, we attach one for $200.
Nothing is paid online or up front. You sign the engagement agreement, and we invoice on delivery of the report: lenders and brokers on net-15 terms, other clients on receipt by card or ACH.
Miss the delivery date we commit to for a reason within our control, and we take $250 off, or refund the full fee if it is under $250. If a lender or the SBA declines the report because it does not comply with ASTM E1527-21 or SOP 50 10 8.1, we correct it at no charge, or refund the fee if we cannot. The engagement terms list the exclusions.
Professional liability with Nautilus Insurance Company: $1,000,000 per claim and $1,000,000 aggregate. General liability with Technology Risk Retention Group, Inc.: $1,000,000 aggregate. Both are in force through October 13, 2027.
Phones answered 7am-5pm PT, Monday to Friday. Requests received after hours are answered by 8am PT the next business day.
Our services
A desktop screen for a first look, an RSRA when an SBA loan over $250,000 calls for one, a Phase I when the lender or the SBA requires it, and asbestos surveys and lead-based paint inspections quoted to the building.
Lender-ready Phase I in 5 business days for $1,495 flat, nationwide. Signed by an Environmental Professional who meets 40 CFR 312.10. SBA reliance letter included.
The SBA RSRA is the minimum report, with the Environmental Questionnaire, on loans over $250,000 with no Appendix 6 NAICS match, and on smaller loans when the Questionnaire shows further investigation is warranted. An Environmental Professional reviews government and historical records and rates the property low, elevated or high risk, in 2 business days.
A records-only environmental desktop review before you spend on a Phase I: regulatory databases, historical aerials, city directories and fire insurance maps, and a written Environmental Professional opinion, next business day for $199. The full fee is credited toward a Phase I on the same property ordered within 30 days.
Prices apply to standard-scope properties. See prices, rush terms and standard scope.
How it works
Address, report type and timeline. Start your request online, with no payment required.
A project manager reviews the request and sends your fixed proposal. Work begins after you authorize.
Records research starts when you authorize, and the site visit follows on the confirmed schedule. On a Phase I, an Environmental Professional who meets 40 CFR 312.10 reviews the findings and signs the report.
Receive your report and supporting documentation. We stay available for questions from you and your lender.
Compare reports
Start with the scope your transaction requires. The full fee of a desktop screen, RSRA or Transaction Screen is credited toward a Phase I on the same property ordered within 30 days.
| Report | Desktop Screen$199 flatNext business day | SBA RSRA$695 flat2 business days | Transaction Screen$795 flat4 business days | Phase I ESA$1,495 flat5 business days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | Database + historical review, EP opinion | SBA SOP 50 10 8.1 | ASTM E1528-22 | ASTM E1527-21 / AAI |
| Site visit | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Signed by an Environmental Professional | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Accepted by the SBA | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Performed to EPA’s AAI rule (one requirement for CERCLA landowner protections) | No | No | No | Yes |
| Best for | First look before spending on a Phase I; buyers, brokers, low-risk conventional loans | SBA loans over $250,000 with no Appendix 6 NAICS match | SBA loans when the current owner or operator will not sign the Environmental Questionnaire; car-wash-only sites | Commercial purchases and loans; SBA loans with an Appendix 6 NAICS match (gas station loans add Appendix 7 requirements); buyers seeking CERCLA landowner protections |
| Request report | Order report for Desktop Screen | Order report for SBA RSRA | Order report for Transaction Screen | Order report for Phase I ESA |
For SBA lenders and CDCs
Walk through the loan amount, business type and property history with our SBA environmental requirement checker.
Find the right SBA reportFor buyers, brokers and attorneys
What the Phase I costs, what it covers, when you get it, and what happens if it finds something.
Explore the buyer’s guideYour questions
Have a question about your property or transaction? Talk to our team.
Nothing the ASTM E1527-21 scope asks of the Environmental Professional is left out: records review, site visit, interviews and the signed report. Much of a Phase I is desk work: gathering regulatory and historical records and organizing them before anyone can form an opinion. We built proprietary internal technology that collects and organizes those records the day you authorize, so the Environmental Professional reviews an organized record instead of assembling one. That lowers our cost: our standard-scope Phase I is $1,495, and in October 2026 most Phase I prices and ranges other firms published ran about $1,800 to $5,000.
An Environmental Professional who meets 40 CFR 312.10. They perform or supervise the inquiry, reach the conclusions and sign the report with the two declarations required by 40 CFR 312.21(d), and the report states their qualifications. A qualified local field professional makes the site visit under the Environmental Professional’s supervision, which the All Appropriate Inquiries rule allows for anyone assisting with the inquiry (40 CFR 312.10(b)).
Phase I reports are written to ASTM E1527-21 and Transaction Screens to ASTM E1528-22, and both come with the SBA’s Appendix 5 reliance letter, which SOP 50 10 8.1 requires on SBA loans. An RSRA follows SOP 50 10 8.1 and needs no reliance letter. Lender policies vary, so send yours with the order.
Yes. Desktop screens and RSRAs need no site visit, so location does not matter. For a Phase I or Transaction Screen, we book a qualified local field professional when you authorize, working under the Environmental Professional’s supervision, and the delivery date we confirm already accounts for the visit. Asbestos surveys are performed by state-licensed or AHERA-accredited inspectors and lead-based paint work by inspectors and risk assessors certified by EPA or by the state, and an Environmental Professional reviews and co-signs their reports.
The report explains the finding and gives the Environmental Professional’s opinion on whether further investigation is warranted, often a Phase II that samples soil, groundwater or soil vapor where the concern is. On SBA loans, the lender must follow the Environmental Professional’s recommendations, including housekeeping items, or request an exception (SOP 50 10 8.1, Section A, Chapter 5, Paragraph E.4.e). We scope the Phase II and obtain fixed bids from licensed partners, so you keep one point of contact.
Scope, price and delivery date confirmed before you authorize. No payment online.
