What are the non-obvious drawbacks of buying a house near railroad tracks? [more inside]
posted by howrobotsaremade on Sep 7, 2009 - 45 answers

Can I get the Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency if I am buying the house right now, and the current homeowner is replacing the furnace for me? [more inside]
posted by dpollitt on Sep 1, 2009 - 4 answers

How can I increase my chances of buying a new car below dealer cost? Would you get an additional discount if you paid cash in full? [more inside]
posted by MrMulan on Aug 20, 2009 - 13 answers

I'm heading off to college in a few months and I'm absolutely overwhelmed by the myriad of point-and-shoot cameras on the market. I ran through some pictures (well, actually many pictures) on Flickr to try and get a feel for what I was looking for, but some pictures are naturally more appealing than others and the quality is affected by various factors, so I ruled that method out as an objective option. I'm pretty sure more megapixels isn't always more quality and that there are other factors to account for, such as noise and shutter speed, but I'm at a loss at what really matters in a digital camera. I hope I don't sound completely uninformed, but I've scoured previous topics and while they're very helpful, they're a little outdated. I would really appreciate recommendations on a compact/ultracompact camera that takes pretty pictures! I'm willing to spend up to 300, but hopefully no more than that :) Thoughts? Suggestions? Jeers? :(
posted by tihleigh on Jun 14, 2008 - 27 answers

I'm thinking about buying a new car in the next year. I live in Seattle, Washington, where the sales tax is about 8.8%, but I visit Oregon frequently, where there is no sales tax. Would there be any drawbacks to buying the car in Oregon to avoid the sales tax? I would still register and insure it in Washington.
posted by matildaben on Mar 17, 2006 - 18 answers