Mount Pleasant, Michigan: ten days after a code notice

How a notice plays out

Section 150.35 sets the order of events:

1. The Code Official issues a notice.
2. The time allowed depends on the problem. An inoperable vehicle gets ten days. Other violations "shall be corrected within 30 calendar days from the date of notice." Anything the official sees as a health hazard must be fixed "within the shortest reasonable time," and the responsible party has to report having started within 48 hours.
3. When time runs out, the official re-inspects. If the problem is still there and no appeal was filed, the official "may issue a municipal civil infraction."

The parts of the code we read set the clock but do not define an inoperable vehicle. The city may define it elsewhere. Michigan's abandoned vehicle law, MCL 257.252a, deals with cars left on land without permission and leaves junk cars on an owner's own property to local ordinances, so the city's own definition is the one that governs your driveway.

Snow and overnight parking downtown

Section 71.04 gives the City Manager a weather switch. On "falling snow, sleet, or freezing rain, or based on a National Weather Service forecast," parking in city lots can be "prohibited or restricted for plowing or other purposes." A car that refuses to start stays put while the plow waits.

The same section requires guest permits for visitors of downtown residents parking overnight in a downtown lot, and for guests parking overnight on streets in designated residential neighborhoods. It also sets aside eight spaces for 24-hour parking in one city-owned lot. A guest whose car breaks down in one of those spots overnight without a permit has a parking problem on top of the repair.

Selling it: title and plate

Isabella County does not issue titles. Michigan does, through Department of State (SOS) branches. As the seller you hand over the original title, write in the mileage, complete your section, and sign, along with any co-owner. The SOS instructions for sellers mention no notary.

Pull the plate before the car goes. It remains yours for another vehicle, and SOS cautions that a plate left on could put the buyer's parking tickets on you. The buyer gets three days to drive home.

If the tabs lapsed while the car sat, renewing just to keep it on the driveway may not pay. Michigan charges no back years, but it adds a $10 fee after expiration and will not prorate the renewal.

Michigan has no release-of-liability form. MCL 257.240 protects a seller who either goes to a branch alongside the buyer or saves proof of the sale for 18 months. SOS suggests photocopying both sides of the completed title. A page the buyer signs, showing their name, address and driver's license number plus the price and date, also counts.

Getting an offer

Use the form or call (877) 421-6008. Describe the car, give the miles on the dash, say if it fires up, and tell us who holds the title. A truck can pick it up at a rental near downtown, a family driveway, or a repair shop lot. The nearest town page is Midland, 27.3 miles away, and Michigan has the statewide rules.