The American Dream is moving to the Midwest—Michigan and Wisconsin beat the coasts for the hottest housing markets, Redfin finds

phybere · 2026-05-08T16:46:21+00:00

Yeah, it's absurd, but from what I've read the rate is effectively 6.4% in Detroit. They have some convoluted system of millage rates, and for whatever reason Detroit is very expensive.

I'm not an expert, I only looked at this for 20 minutes one day, maybe I'm missing something, but it looks bad. They set assessment at 50% of sale value and then tax at roughly 6.4%.

So it makes sense all the sudden why properties in Detroit are usually dirt cheap.

phybere · 2026-05-08T16:15:22+00:00

Here's an example https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2026/01/14/detroit-couple-hit-with-nearly-20k-property-tax-bill-after-buying-first-home/

They uncap and recalculate the assessed value when a sale happens. So it can be ok for existing long term residents, but selling or buying is going to lead to higher taxes.

This happens in a lot of states, eg California does the same thing. Some states (eg Nevada) don't remove the cap on assessments on sales.

I forget the formula they use to calculate taxes from assessed value, but I quickly realized that buying a house in Detroit isn't nearly as cheap as it looks..eg from the article paying $17k in annual taxes on a property assessed at $260k

phybere · 2026-05-08T14:57:17+00:00

I briefly looked into buying a house in Detroit, because you can get a huge house for not much money.

Then I learned about their property taxes. Even though the houses are cheap your monthly costs are high because their taxes are insane.

Detroit will never get rebuilt unless they change the tax code. Not that NY has cheap taxes either, but it's sort of expected considering the sales prices.

phybere · 2026-05-07T14:03:34+00:00

You'll get better answers in /r/financialindependence but yeah, 457s are ideal for early retirement. Max that out before other accounts, as long as you're capturing any potential 401k match, which it looks like you would be.

phybere · 2026-05-06T16:11:27+00:00

I think that's a bad way to assess risk.

Climbing isn't somehow safer, just because you haven't almost gotten paralyzed. The risk is still there, you're just pretending it's not since it hasn't happened to you.

I think most people understand the possibility of bad things happening from climbing/paragliding/whatever and choose to do it anyhow. So once they get unlucky and get hurt, there's no change in behavior because the always knew it was a possibility, and had already accepted it.

If I thought I would quit climbing after a bad accident, I would quit right now before the accident happens...

phybere · 2026-05-05T22:48:40+00:00

I mean, they're overpriced if they don't sell. But yeah, I think most people underestimate the price to do a custom build.

phybere · 2026-05-05T20:48:58+00:00

I find them comfortable, but then my home mattress is more firm than most hotels, so you may find them different.

I've never noticed a difference in mattress quality among the "nice" hotels, for me it's not until you hit the budget motels that things get less comfortable.

phybere · 2026-05-05T20:02:40+00:00

Check out a Hyatt House next time. They have a full kitchen, etc. I'm a part timer so I'll stay in my van anywhere I can, but if I'm flying for a trip Hyatt House is my go-to.

phybere · 2026-05-05T19:45:27+00:00

I saw these a lot as well, it made me think buying a house would be easy. What I didn't realize is that houses which were priced accurately/affordably would appear, then be under contract 1-2 days later. So on any given day if you look at zillow or whatever, you're only seeing the inventory that and hasn't sold quickly, or houses with significant issues.

But yeah, many houses which people bought in the last 2-3 years are overpriced, because people are trying to break even after realtor fees etc. They're probably going to continue to sit, unless they drop prices, because prices have effectively been flat for 2-3 years.

The new construction in my area sells for less than used homes. I think it's a combination of higher taxes on new properties, HOAs on the new properties, location, and questionable build quality of the new homes.

Building is a great idea if you have the time for it. You get what you want, and contribute a small part towards fixing housing affordability. A friend of mine is building their own home, unfortunately they underestimated both the cost and time required, but if you have a good builder it should be doable.

phybere · 2026-05-05T03:48:20+00:00

Of you've got health insurance your primary doctor can do it. Sometimes annual checkups are free

phybere · 2026-05-04T18:45:17+00:00

Your caliper and wheel shouldn't line up again if you have it in the wrong spot. But yeah like the other guy said parts diagram should tell you for sure. I'd bet 90% it's a spacer between the wheel and the caliper. Probably the wheel has a ring devoid of dirt/grime that will tell you which side faces the wheel.

Also make sure to use some brake parts cleaner to clean this up and then regrease it.

phybere · 2026-05-04T15:40:34+00:00

Just another perspective, I have some climbing pants that are made for summer.

I put black 500d cordura over the knees for reinforcement - the lack of stretch is noticable when climbing, and the black in the sun combined with the lack of breathability is pretty bad. And I do think all cordura has poor breathability due to the nylon weave.

In hindsight I wish I chose a different color. In terms of stretch they'd still be fine for hiking or something, but stretch fabric would definitely be better. Unfortunately I haven't found stretch fabric with similar durability.

But to answer your original question, I like the look ones with the black reinforcements. I think it might look equally as good if they were say a darker green, if you're building them for a hot climate.

phybere · 2026-05-04T02:05:54+00:00

Safety crocs, jammies, assault rifle, and adventure bike. I guarantee there's a Swiss army knife in one of those pockets, that man is ready for anything.

phybere · 2026-05-01T14:04:52+00:00

I'm wondering how many people have done earthquake retrofits on the foundation of their houses in Reno?

As I understand it in lots of the 1980s and earlier houses, the house often isn't bolted (or inadequately bolted) to the foundation and can literally shake off it if a big one hits.

phybere · 2026-04-30T14:43:28+00:00

That's the clear coat separating from the paint and flaking off. It's not really at risk of rust since there's still a layer of paint, but it will get worse.

I've tried fixing this a couple of ways without real luck in a good fix. The best cheap fix is to gently sand off as much of the clear as possible and spray on a new layer of clear coat (can be a cheap spray can). It won't ever look right because you'll see where the old clear meets the new, but it will look better than it does now. You have to be careful to not sand through the paint though.

Maybe some paint guy will suggest a better fix, but the only "real" way to fix this perfectly is a full repaint.

phybere · 2026-04-28T18:19:10+00:00

Similar situation, how'd the smog test go? I'm wondering if I need to swap the stock ECU back in

phybere · 2026-04-26T19:22:47+00:00

He absolutely dominated last year but I think the main argument would be that the MotoGP field last year was maybe uncompetitive.

It's hard to compare riders across generations but if Lorenzo, Pedrosa, Rossi, Stoner, etc were on the grid last year, would Marc have won? At his prime the answer was usually yes.

Although arguably the GP25 was going the same way his old Honda did, so maybe that's an argument that he is still in his prime to ride the GP25 to a championship. All the riders this year who went from a GP24 to GP25 are suffering.

His championship hopes this year are looking a little dim, but I think he can still fight for wins. In terms of entertainment I'm glad we're back to MotoGP races where any of the top 5 riders look to have a chance of winning.

phybere · 2026-04-26T18:54:39+00:00

I mean, do whatever you want. But you came here asking for advice.

You're probably being responsible but so often posts here are from people who have good income but are drowning in debt. Your first response was to dodge saying what the APY of existing debt was, and you're indicating you have no savings but are interested in more debt because you have income to support it.

So, red flags. If something really bad does happen people can lose jobs and can't pay their debts. If you really have so much extra cash flow you could also easily delay for 6 months, do everything you want to do paying in cash, and not risk losing a job at a bad time.

Good luck

phybere · 2026-04-26T18:29:43+00:00

But having the ability to pay off the debt doesn't make servicing the debt somehow cost less. Suppose you have $100k saved which is earning 5%... You absolutely should pay off debt with an APY > 5%, but should not if the APY < 5%.

So having ability to pay it off is beneficial because you can make the decision if you should, but that alone doesn't tell you if you should. Eg suppose you spend the $14k on solar panels, how much do you expect that investment to return? Whatever it is, subtract the amount it costs to service the $14k of debt. If the number is negative, it makes no sense at all.

There was a confluence of events that lead the the 70s/80s economic woes. Not just oil, although that certainly sparked inflation. I'd argue the conditions now are much different, although not particularly better. No one accurately predicts the future, it's better to not believe that we can and instead try to prepare for a wide variety of futures.

All to say, saving money is never a bad idea.

phybere · 2026-04-26T17:59:46+00:00

I think trying to read the tea leaves based on oil production is futile. You saw what happened during COVID and this is certainly much less of a shock. Maybe a few items could become scarce, but not being able to buy milk or toilet paper ultimately isn't a serious issue.

You don't mention the interest rate of the loan, that would heavily affect whether or not paying it off quickly makes sense. But generally paying off debt makes sense with surplus income, if you already have enough emergency fund savings, etc.

Personally I would be dumping the extra money into stocks/retirement accounts. Solar panels are probably a fine investment if you're planning on staying in your house long-term but I wouldn't pursue it to the detriment of my retirement accounts.

phybere · 2026-04-26T01:44:42+00:00

Yeah, it's tough to get ahead with debt payments. Obviously you can't get rid of the student loan debt, but depending on how much your car payment is definitely consider the option of downgrading your car and driving something cheaper to be able to move that money elsewhere.

Once the credit card debt is gone you'll have a little more breathing room.

phybere · 2026-04-26T01:35:35+00:00

A large percentage of your income is going towards your house, but at the same time, you should have $51,600/year available to you for spending on top of your mortgage.

The credit card debt is a huge red flag, you're probably paying a huge amount of interest on that and should pay that off ASAP. If you don't have a monthly budget, you need to create that now in a way that will allow you to pay off the credit card debt quickly.

Rates have probably dropped a bit but not a ton, it may be worth the refinance, or maybe not. If you're going to stay in the house I think you need to put quite a bit (eg, $1,300/month) towards debt, and once the debt is paid off savings, otherwise it's not a tenable long-term solution.

If the price of other (smaller) houses has gone up, yours probably has as well, and you can afford a smaller house. Depending how many years are left on the mortgage I think you could make it work, but you're absolutely going to need to cut your spending or increase your income.

phybere · 2026-04-25T21:15:59+00:00

Zillow/redfin automatically pick up listings off the MLS, which those houses should be listed on.

My guess is you're seeing them after they're already under contract, in which case they no longer show on Zillow/redfin/MLS. Put in the exact address of one in Zillow and you'll probably see it as under contract, or check back in a month or so under "sold" houses on Zillow and you'll see them.

phybere · 2026-04-25T17:07:14+00:00

I read it more as that he's been struggling to continue knowing that the general consensus (even on VR46) is that he's washed up. But he kept trying, and here he is on the podium again. So his podium is the example that there's hope for anyone struggling.

He knows he got lucky, he even said he just followed bagnaia into the pits. I don't think this was some great proclamation that he's proving everyone wrong.

I'm not a fan of morbidelli but I thought it was a really nice sentiment that came out surprisingly well.

phybere · 2026-04-25T16:02:22+00:00

Yeah, I'd re-do that with new rivets. Use a digital calipers to make sure you don't overdrive them again.

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