Preliminary Title Report: What Roseville Buyers Miss

What should you look for on a preliminary title report in California?

Your preliminary title report lists everything recorded against the property — the deeds of trust, the easements, the CC&Rs, the Mello-Roos Notice of Special Tax Lien, and any judgment or mechanic's lien on record. The items that cause real problems in Roseville are PACE and HERO solar assessments, UCC-1 fixture filings from leased solar, unreleased deeds of trust from loans that were paid off but never reconveyed, and judgment liens that don't surface until the title company runs the seller's name rather than the property address. California law is explicit that the prelim is not a guarantee of title — it's a statement of the terms on which the title company is willing to insure — and you take title subject to every exception listed on it, with no coverage for those items. Read it inside your investigation contingency, not after.
By Rich & Kat Farless | September 18, 2026

Most buyers in Roseville skim the preliminary title report for thirty seconds, see their name spelled right, and move on to the inspection.
That's the wrong instinct. The inspection tells you what's wrong with the house. The prelim tells you what's wrong with the ownership — and title problems are the ones that blow up a closing date, because a title company can't insure around them and your lender won't fund without the policy.
Here's how to read it, what to flag, and when to push back.

What the report actually is — and what it isn't
The preliminary title report is issued by your title company after escrow opens, usually within three to five business days. In Placer County that's often Placer Title, Old Republic, Fidelity, or First American, depending on who the listing side opened with.
It has three parts worth your attention:
Vesting — who legally owns the property right now, and in what form. Trust, LLC, joint tenancy, community property. If the vesting doesn't match who's signing your purchase contract, that's a problem to raise on day one, not day fifteen.
Taxes — the current property tax status, plus any special assessments and bonds. This is where Mello-Roos shows up.
Schedule B exceptions — every recorded item the title policy will not cover. Easements, CC&Rs, liens, restrictions, agreements.
That last section is the one people misunderstand. An exception isn't a warning that something might be wrong. It's the title company telling you: this is real, it's on the property, and we're not insuring you against it. You're buying the home subject to all of it.
California Insurance Code is blunt on this point — a preliminary report is not a representation about the condition of title. It's a statement of the terms under which the insurer will issue a policy. You can't sue the title company later based on what the prelim said or didn't say. That's exactly why you read it while you still have a contingency.
A rough rule we use with clients: the longer the report, the more there is to talk about. A ten-page prelim on a 1990s Sierra Gardens home is routine. A thirty-page prelim on a Fiddyment Farm or Westpark home means layers of CFD documents, annexations, and development agreements — worth an hour of your attention.
The five items that actually cause problems here

1. PACE and HERO assessments

This is the one that catches Placer County sellers and buyers off guard more than anything else on the list.
PACE financing — marketed here under names like HERO — pays for solar, HVAC, windows, or roofing, and repays through a special assessment on the property tax bill. It runs with the land. It does not disappear when the house sells.
The problem: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, and VA will not fund a loan that sits behind a PACE lien in first position. So if you're buying with anything other than cash, the balance has to be paid off through escrow before you close. On a typical Roseville solar installation that's $20,000 to $60,000 coming straight off the seller's proceeds — and if they didn't plan for it, you're suddenly renegotiating price two weeks before close.

Worse, PACE assessments don't always appear cleanly on the prelim, because they're levied through the tax roll rather than recorded like a conventional lien. If the home has visible solar or recently replaced windows or HVAC, ask directly: is there a PACE or HERO assessment, and what's the payoff? Then verify it against the Placer County tax bill rather than taking anyone's word for it.
2. Leased solar and UCC-1 fixture filings

Different problem, same panels. If the solar is leased or on a PPA, the provider records a UCC-1 fixture filing against the property. In California they also record a Notice of an Independent Solar Energy Producer Contract.

That filing shows up on your prelim, and your lender will want it cleared, subordinated, or the lease formally assumed with the provider's written consent before funding. Provider consent takes weeks, not days. Start the assumption paperwork the day you open escrow, not the week you're supposed to close.

California also requires the seller to disclose the solar financing type on the Transfer Disclosure Statement. When the disclosure says "owned" and the prelim shows a fixture filing, that discrepancy is yours to resolve before you remove contingencies — not the title company's.

3. The Mello-Roos Notice of Special Tax Lien

If you're buying new construction in West Roseville, Lincoln, or El Dorado Hills, there's a recorded Notice of Special Tax Lien for the Community Facilities District on your prelim. It's listed as an exception, and it names the CFD.
Read it. It tells you which district you're in, which is the first step to finding out what the annual special tax is, whether it escalates, and when — or whether — it ends. Some CFD service components have no expiration at all. If you're weighing whether to clear the bonded portion, we broke that down in can you pay off Mello-Roos early in Roseville, where prepayment typically runs $15,000 to $60,000 or more depending on the parcel.

4. Judgment liens that don't show up on the first search

Here's the one that surprises sellers. Abstracts of judgment — including child support liens, which California child support agencies are required to record on every case with an active obligation — attach to any real property the debtor owns in the county. They don't reference a specific address.

So they often don't appear on the initial property search. They surface later, when the title company runs the seller's name and Social Security number. That can be a week before closing.
If you're selling and there's any history of an old judgment, a lapsed support order, a disputed medical bill, or a business debt, tell your agent and your escrow officer at listing. Clearing a stale judgment takes time. Discovering one on day thirty of a thirty-day escrow costs you the deal.
5. Unreleased deeds of trust and mechanic's liens
Sometimes a loan was paid off years ago and the lender simply never recorded the reconveyance. The old deed of trust still sits on title, clouding it, and it has to be cleared before the policy issues. Tracking down a successor institution's reconveyance department can take weeks. The Placer County Clerk-Recorder in Rocklin can confirm what's actually on record.
Mechanic's liens are the other version of this — a contractor or subcontractor who wasn't paid records a lien against the home. It clouds title and can stall a sale. There are ways through it, including bonding around the lien so the sale can close while the dispute continues. If the work in question was also done without permits, you're dealing with two problems at once, which we walk through in selling a home with unpermitted work in Roseville.
Work the report before your contingency expires
The standard California Residential Purchase Agreement gives you a default 17-day investigation contingency, and title review sits inside it. That window gets shortened all the time in competitive Roseville offers — and shortening it is exactly how buyers end up with no leverage on a title problem.
What to actually do with your copy:
Open every hyperlinked exception. Modern prelims link to the recorded documents. Don't accept a one-line summary of an easement — read the recorded easement and find out who benefits, where it runs, and whether it crosses where you planned to build.
Separate routine from real. A PG&E or Roseville Electric utility easement along the rear lot line is normal. A shared driveway easement, an access easement across your side yard, or a drainage easement through the buildable area changes how you can use the property.
Ask the title officer directly. They read these every day and they'll walk you through it line by line. Ask specifically: is this lien live or just never released, and what has to happen before you'll insure over it?
Match the report against the disclosures. The seller's Transfer Disclosure Statement and Seller Property Questionnaire should line up with what's recorded. If the SPQ says no solar financing and there's a UCC-1 on the prelim, ask why before you remove contingencies.
Confirm who's paying for the policy. In Placer County, custom has the seller paying for the owner's title policy, escrow fees split 50/50, and the documentary transfer tax on the seller. Custom varies by county — El Dorado County typically splits the owner's policy — and all of it is negotiable in the contract regardless. The same logic applies to who pays for termite repairs in California: custom sets the default, the contract sets the rule.
Title issues are the quietest deal-killers in this business. They almost never come up in the first conversation, and they're almost always solvable if you find them in week one instead of week four.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to get a preliminary title report in Placer County?
Most title companies issue the prelim within three to five business days of escrow opening. Complicated files — trust vesting, probate, multiple recorded CFDs, or a long chain of title — can take up to two weeks. If you haven't seen it by day five, ask your agent to push.
Does a PACE or HERO lien have to be paid off when the home sells?
In practice, yes, whenever the buyer is financing. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, and VA will not lend behind a PACE assessment in first-lien position, so the balance gets paid from the seller's proceeds at closing. A cash buyer can technically take the property subject to it, but most won't without a price adjustment.
Is the preliminary title report the same as title insurance?
No. The prelim is a report on what's recorded and a statement of the terms under which the company will insure. The policy is the actual coverage, issued at closing. Anything listed as an exception on the prelim is specifically excluded from the policy — which is why the exceptions section is the part that matters.
Do I need owner's title insurance if my lender already requires a policy?
The lender's policy protects the lender's interest, not yours. Owner's coverage protects your equity against pre-existing defects — an unknown heir, a forged signature in the chain, an unreleased lien from a prior owner. In California the combined premium generally runs about 0.5% to 1% of the purchase price, paid once.
What happens if the title report shows an easement I don't like?
You can ask the seller to resolve it, negotiate a credit, or cancel within your investigation contingency without penalty. What you cannot do is close and then complain — you take title subject to every recorded exception. That's the entire reason the review window exists.

Your preliminary title report is the cheapest due diligence in the whole transaction. It's already been produced, it's already been paid for, and almost nobody reads past the first page.
If you're buying or selling in Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln, Granite Bay, Folsom, Loomis, or El Dorado Hills and you want someone to go through your prelim line by line before contingencies come off — or you're a seller who'd rather find the surprise now than on day twenty-eight — Rich & Kat are here to help. Schedule a free consultation at richandkatsoldthat.com/talktous.

About Rich & Kat Farless
Rich and Kat Farless are a husband-and-wife real estate team with over 30 years of combined experience serving buyers and sellers across the Sacramento region. As the #1 husband-and-wife team in Roseville, CA, they specialize in single family, new construction, and luxury properties across Placer, Sacramento, and El Dorado counties. Connect with them at richandkatsoldthat.com.