We collect it
One of our inspectors takes the sample at the house, following the lab's procedure, and fills in the chain-of-custody form. It can be done on its own or during your home inspection, so there's one visit instead of two.
Buying a home on a well with a VA loan? The lender needs a water test, and VA won't let you collect the sample or take it to the lab yourself. We collect it and ship it to a state-certified lab the same day, and you get a certified lab report to give your lender.
VA's rule is simple: the water in a home it backs has to be safe to drink, and the sample has to be collected and carried to the lab by someone with no stake in the sale. Not the veteran, not the seller, not the agent. We've been doing these for years.
One of our inspectors takes the sample at the house, following the lab's procedure, and fills in the chain-of-custody form. It can be done on its own or during your home inspection, so there's one visit instead of two.
The sample ships the same day to Specialty Testing in Greensboro, a North Carolina state-certified lab. They test for total coliform, E. coli, nitrate, nitrite and lead, the tests VA lenders typically ask for. If your lender needs anything more, tell us before we book.
A certified lab report showing pass or fail for each test against EPA and local limits, with 20/20 named as the collector. We send it to you, and to your lender or agent if you'd like.
For VA, a water test is good for 90 days. Too early and a delayed closing can mean doing it again; too late and a failed result leaves no room to treat the well and retest. You can book it alongside the home inspection.
It depends on what failed and what your lender requires. Often the well needs treatment, then a new sample is tested. Simply adding a filter doesn't by itself prove the water passes. Once the work is done, the retest is booked as a new test, and we can collect it.
If the home has a private well, yes. VA’s rules say the water must be safe to drink and meet the local health authority’s standard. Where there is no local standard, the state’s applies, and where there is no state standard, the EPA’s. Your lender will confirm exactly what they need for your file.
No. VA requires a disinterested third party to collect the sample and carry it to the lab. The veteran, the seller, or anyone else with a stake in the sale is not allowed to do either. That is the part we do.
For VA purposes, 90 days from the date it is certified. Your lender can confirm which date they count from. If your closing slips past that, they will need a new sample and a new test, so it is worth booking with your closing date in mind.
Total coliform bacteria, E. coli, nitrate, nitrite and lead. The results come back as a pass or fail against EPA and local limits, on a report from a North Carolina state-certified lab.
The next step depends on what failed and what your lender requires. Often the well needs treatment, and then a new sample is tested. Simply adding a filter does not by itself prove the water passes. Once the work is done, the retest is booked and charged as a new test, and we can collect it.
Sometimes. The rules are less clear-cut than VA’s and depend on the lender, the appraiser and the local health department. Ask your loan officer which tests they need and send us their list, and we will tell you whether our test covers it.
Have a VA buyer on a well? Call or email and we'll handle the collection and send the report to you and the buyer.
We can take the water sample on the same visit. See what a full inspection covers.
Collected and shipped by us, tested by a state-certified lab, with the report sent to you and your lender.