SBA 7(a) · SBA 504 · Conventional

For lenders and CDCs

Phase I ESAs, SBA RSRAs and desktop reviews for SBA 7(a), SBA 504 and conventional loans, with reliance letters for Phase I ESAs and a vendor packet for your approved-vendor list.

Order an RSRA Set up a lender account

Vendor packet

By email · within one business day

Add Geare Group Consulting to your approved vendor list. Request the packet and we email it within one business day. It includes:

W-9
Certificate of insurance naming your institution as certificate holder: professional liability, $1M per claim / $2M aggregate
Statement of qualifications
Sample RSRA
Rates

Request the vendor packet

Tell us the certificate holder name and address for the certificate of insurance.

What SBA requires

Three questions determine which report SBA requires.

1Is a current or known past use on SBA's sensitive-industry list (Appendix 6 of SOP 50 10 8.1), or does the property sell fuel?

YesPhase I ESARequired whatever the loan amount. Gas stations (NAICS 457) also need Appendix 7. A current or past on-site dry cleaner needs a Phase I followed by a Phase II.

NoGo to 2A unit in a non-industrial building of 4 or more units skips question 1.

2Is the loan over $250,000?

NoEnvironmental QuestionnaireThe lender completes or reviews it after a site visit. If it shows further investigation is warranted, an RSRA at minimum.

YesQuestionnaire + RSRAThen 3.

3Is the RSRA result Low Risk, with a clean questionnaire?

YesNo further investigationKeep the RSRA and questionnaire in the loan file. Non-delegated lenders also certify in the SBA Loan System.

NoPhase I ESASBA requires the lender to obtain one. Within 75 miles of Santa Cruz, the RSRA fee is credited.

If the current owner or operator won't sign the questionnaire, the minimum is a Transaction Screen. A child-occupied facility built before 1978 also needs lead testing, which an RSRA does not cover. This is a summary of SOP 50 10 8.1. The SOP and your credit policy govern.

Which report do I need?

Answer a few quick questions and get questionnaire, RSRA or Phase I, with an order button.

Open the screener

Timing

1 year

Environmental reports must be dated within one year of the date the SBA loan number is issued.

Details

Reliance letters

A reliance letter lets a named lender rely on a report it didn't commission. SBA requires its Appendix 5 reliance letter for Transaction Screens and Phase I and Phase II ESAs, and we issue it for the lender named at order. An RSRA need not be accompanied by one (SOP 50 10 8.1, Appendix 4), so each RSRA instead includes a reliance paragraph naming your institution, the CDC for 504 loans, and SBA.

Conventional and bank-policy loans

Banks set their own environmental risk tiers by loan size and property type. We provide Phase I ESAs, transaction screens and desktop reviews written to your policy.

Ordering and payment

Pay by card at order

Order online and pay in one step.

Send the borrower a link

You place the order; the borrower pays through a secure payment link.

Invoice

Institutions that must be invoiced receive the final report on payment.

Lenders and CDCs get lender pricing at checkout.

Add us to your vendor list

W-9, certificate of insurance, qualifications, a sample RSRA and rates, sent by email within one business day.

Request the vendor packet Order an RSRA