Forest Lake junk and dead car sales

The seven-day rule

Under Section 96.07(A), nobody may leave "any abandoned, junk or unauthorized motorized vehicle" in an open part of a city lot "for more than 7 days." Section 96.01 says those words mean what the state defines in Minnesota Statutes 168B.011.

Business, mixed use and industrial districts get one exception: a car may stay longer if it is adequately screened. Elsewhere, the cover described above is one of the outdoor options the code lists.

When Forest Lake mails its written notice, the count is "10 business days of the mailing date." By then the car must be at a licensed junkyard or another place the code accepts. An owner nobody can locate shifts that burden to whoever holds title to the land.

Zoning limits on top

Section 153.190 says vehicles "in an inoperable state and/or unlicensed" may not be kept in any district except where the chapter allows or inside an enclosed building. It also caps a home lot at 1.5 vehicles per licensed driver in the household, unless the rest are kept indoors.

The zoning definitions in Section 153.010 describe "A lot or yard where 3 or more unlicensed motor vehicles or the remains thereof are kept" for dismantling, parts, scrap or storage. Three dead cars kept for parts or storage can fit those words.

Snow plows and the 15-minute demand

Section 72.02 says a car on the street "shall be removed from the street by its owner within 15 minutes of demand" by a city worker clearing snow and ice or doing street work. Police can also order a car moved when its spot is a traffic hazard at any time of year.

Minnesota title, plates and lost paperwork

A Forest Lake buyer keeps the plates, since Minnesota ties them to the car. You sign the title over with the price, date and disclosures filled in, and the Notice of Sale goes to DVS, by mail or online, inside ten days.

Lost the title? Only the owner printed on it, or a legal representative, can ask for a replacement on form PS2067A. Forest Lake owners pay DVS $21.50 by mail, or that plus a $1 surcharge at a deputy registrar. Most deputy registrars can print the copy on the spot. If a Forest Lake car is over five years old and has no ownership papers whatsoever, it can still get a bonded title. In Forest Lake, take the car's value and multiply by one and a half. That is the bond the owner posts. More on both at selling with no title.

Offices we checked

Forest Lake sits in Washington County, and any of nearly 200 deputy registrar counters around Minnesota can take the transfer. Forest Lake residents can find the closest office by calling 651-297-2005 or searching drive.mn.gov. Here are two from our list, with straight-line distances from central Forest Lake:

• From Forest Lake, it's roughly 24 miles southwest to Hennepin County's Minneapolis office, Suite A-025, 300 South 6th Street. Call 612-348-8240.
• Olmsted County's office (151 4th Street South East, Rochester; 507-923-2020): roughly 89 miles to the south.

Neighbors

Forest Lake covers 30.547 square miles. Lino Lakes is 9.5 miles away, Blaine 12.9 and White Bear Lake 13.0. See Minnesota for statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Forest Lake car owners can reach us at (877) 421-6008 or through the website form. Pickup is free anywhere in the US.