10 Things Michiganders Should Do Before Leaving Home for a Month
Many homeowners policies start restricting coverage for theft, vandalism, and water damage once a home has sat empty for 30 to 60 days in a row, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
These are the things Michiganders should do before leaving home for a month.
Note: This is general information, not insurance or legal advice. Coverage terms and local ordinances change over time.
1. The 55-Degree Thermostat Setting
Michigan’s MIReady program lists the thermostat rule as one of its core precautions for anyone leaving a house unattended.
There’s no exception for how long the trip runs: Never let the temperature drop below 55 degrees.
Cold-water pipes running through an unheated attic, crawl space, or exterior wall split first when the heat drops too far.
Ice always wins.
A weekend cold snap rarely lasts long enough to reach that pipe.
A month gives a hard freeze enough time to break it.
A furnace turned off to save on the gas bill during a Michigan cold snap can turn one weekend of savings into a flooded hallway nobody catches for weeks.
2. The Water Main Shutoff
Michigan’s MIReady program lists a second precaution right alongside the thermostat rule: Shut off the water main and drain the pipes before leaving a house empty.
A frozen pipe is one risk.
A supply line to a washing machine or a toilet can fail for no weather-related reason at all.
It can run for the length of the whole trip before anyone finds it.
Nobody’s home to hear that.
3. Your Insurer’s Vacancy Clause
Michiganders planning a full month away are walking straight into the exact window insurers watch for.
That 30-60 day window is where theft, vandalism, and water damage coverage starts thinning out.
It’s a national standard, not a Michigan-only rule, but every Michigan homeowner’s policy answers to it just the same.
A month-long trip lands inside that window, not safely outside it.
Call before you leave.
What “Vacant” Means to an Insurer
Michigan insurers don’t use “vacant” to mean a family is away on a trip.
It usually means a home has no furniture and nobody has been living there day to day.
That’s a different bar than a furnished house standing empty for a month while its residents travel.
Even so, the exact wording of a policy decides which side of that line a month-long absence falls on.
The safest move is asking an agent directly instead of guessing.
4. The 30-Day Mail Cap
Michigan mailboxes get the same nationwide Hold Mail option as anyone else’s, and it happens to fit a month-long trip almost perfectly.
The U.S. Postal Service’s Hold Mail service tops out at 30 days, with a minimum of three.
Thirty days, not longer.
That’s the same stretch, almost to the day.
Go even a few days past a month, and the mailbox needs mail forwarding set up instead.
The other option is a neighbor willing to grab the stack before it spills onto the porch, a sign to anyone passing that the house is empty.
5. Your Home Inventory Update
Michigan’s Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) tells residents to keep a home inventory of what they own.
A weekend trip rarely puts that list to the test, since there’s little time for anything to go wrong before someone’s home again.
A month gives a break-in, a fire, or a burst pipe far more time to happen, with nobody around to catch it early.
Photos and receipts for anything expensive belong in it too, well before anything goes wrong.
Two gaps trip people up.
DIFS names them directly: Flood damage and water or sewer backups aren’t automatically covered, inventory or not.
A homeowner without receipts ends up arguing with an adjuster instead of collecting a payout.
6. Storm-Proofing the Basement and Your Outlets
Michigan utilities took about 12 hours on average to restore power after a 2023 outage, the longest recovery time of any state.
That number comes from a Citizens Utility Board of Michigan analysis of U.S. Energy Information Administration data.
That’s long enough for a sump pump to sit dead during a heavy rain and let a basement fill before anyone’s home to notice.
A weekend trip might dodge that kind of storm completely.
A month gives many more chances for a storm to hit, and a flooded basement can sit for weeks before anyone finds it.
Battery backups exist for this.
A surge when the power comes back can also fry anything left plugged in.
Unplugging small appliances and electronics before leaving takes five minutes.
7. A Daily House Check
Michigan’s MIReady program tells residents heading out for the winter to line up a neighbor who will check the house daily.
A furnace that quits on day two looks nothing like a furnace that’s been off for three weeks by the time somebody notices.
Someone has to notice fast.
A daily glance from next door catches a dead furnace, a running toilet, or a break-in within hours instead of after the whole trip is over.
8. A Free Police House Check
Beyond one neighbor’s daily glance, several Michigan police departments will send an officer or a volunteer through the yard for free.
Grand Rapids residents can apply for a vacation house check online, by phone, or in person.
The only requirements are being gone at least four days and applying at least a week ahead.
Oakland County’s sheriff’s office runs a similar program: Deputies pull into the driveway and walk the property on all three shifts once a resident signs up.
Somebody’s watching either way.
9. Your City’s Snow-Clearing Clock
A Michigan winter trip runs into a deadline that has nothing to do with packing.
Ann Arbor gives property owners 24 hours after an inch or more of snow falls to clear the sidewalk, and 18 hours to salt any ice, before a citation follows.
Travel doesn’t pause the deadline.
If you miss it while traveling, the city can clear the walk itself, bill the owner, and tack on a fine after the first warning of the season is used up.
Psst! How much do you know about getting a Michigan home ready for a month away? Flip these cards and find out.
10. Your City’s Grass-Height Limit
A Michigan home hits the same trap in reverse come summer.
Dearborn caps grass and weeds at six inches, and a citation there has to be resolved within 24 hours or more fines follow.
It grows the whole time.
Line up a mowing service or a neighbor with a mower before leaving for the month.
A single overgrown lawn is usually all it takes for a code officer to leave a notice on the door before the owner’s even back to see it.
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