By Gaul Culley, Gaul Culley Land Group, DRE 02045974. Serving Solano, Napa and Yolo County land and ranch buyers.
A dirt road you can drive on is not legal access. Legal access means the parcel either touches a public road or holds a recorded easement across the neighbor’s land, and a title company will insure it. If the title company won’t insure it, most lenders won’t fund it. I check this before a buyer falls in love with a property, not after.
Step 1: Confirm where the property touches a public road
Pull the parcel on the county GIS map (Solano, Napa or Yolo County) and see whether the boundary meets a county-maintained road. Then call the county road department to confirm the road is publicly dedicated and maintained. Many roads that look public in the listing photos are private.
Step 2: If you cross a neighbor’s land, find the recorded easement
Search the county recorder’s records for an express easement. I look for one attached to the land itself, which transfers to every future owner. An easement granted only to a specific person does not transfer, and a lender will not accept it. A seller telling me everyone has always used this road is not an easement.
Step 3: Order a survey
A licensed surveyor confirms the driveway you’ll actually drive sits inside the recorded easement. I’ve seen driveways that wander 30 feet outside the legal line, and that gap kills a loan.
Step 4: Read Schedule B of the title commitment
Look for any exception for lack of legal access. If it’s there, stop and resolve it before you remove contingencies.
What lenders need to see
Insurable title. The lender’s title policy has to cover access.
A recorded road maintenance agreement when the road is private or shared. It spells out who pays for grading and repairs among all the neighbors who use it.
Year-round passability. Access has to carry a standard vehicle and a fire engine in winter. Seasonal creek crossings and unmaintained roads are a common problem in Napa and Solano County hill parcels.
A note on loan types. Most raw land and ranch purchases go through land lenders or ag lenders (such as farm credit lenders), not FHA, VA or USDA, which are mainly for homes. The access standards are similar, but ask the lender which program applies to your parcel.
Before you make an offer
Ask your agent for the parcel’s title commitment and any recorded easements up front. If you’re looking at land in Solano, Napa or Yolo County, I’ll pull these for you before you write an offer.
Gaul Culley, Gaul Culley Land Group, KW Vaca Valley
Two things to check before this goes live:
Facts only Gaul can confirm. The “I’ve seen driveways 30 feet outside the easement” line is a placeholder. Swap in a real example or delete it. Any specific claim attributed to her should be hers.
Her title or escrow contact. Naming a local title officer as a reviewer would strengthen the authority signal, but only if she’s comfortable with it.