Wire
March 31 was the last day to save the house
The Sixth Circuit said Bay County got no possession or other interest at forfeiture. Carrie Reinhardt still held title, and could cure the tax debt through her equity of redemption, until title vested on March 31.
In the federal Sixth Circuit, the homeowner did not lose her house when the taxes first went unpaid. The court said Bay County’s treasurer did not acquire a right to possession or any other interest in the property at forfeiture, so Carrie Reinhardt still held title through the next stage of the case.
That mattered because the legal loss was not final yet. Until March 31, Reinhardt still owned the property in the eyes of the court.
The right that kept the door open
Reinhardt also kept the equity of redemption, the right to stop foreclosure by paying off the tax debt. That meant the house was still salvageable before the vesting date, even after the county had taken its earlier step in the foreclosure process.
The court treated that as the key point in the timeline. For this case, the earlier forfeiture did not end ownership. Title stayed with Reinhardt until March 31, when it vested absolutely in the treasurer.
Why the cutoff matters
That distinction is more than a lawyer’s technicality. For Michigan homeowners facing tax foreclosure, the date that ends title is the date that tells them how long they still have to act. It is the line between a debt that can still be cured and a loss that is final.
For county treasurers and the lawyers who advise both sides, the ruling keeps the focus on the vesting date, not the earlier forfeiture step, when figuring out when the homeowner’s rights actually end.