1. Try google street view. When doing so keep in mind that things like interstates (Motorways) and railroads can create a sharp divide between a 'good' neighborhood and a 'bad' location
2. AFAIK, realtors are absolutely forbidden to give any guideance. If you are looking at a home next door to a crackhouse/cathouse, they can't even hint at it.
3. try looking at local papers and local blogs. The police reports can give you some idea. However, I have reason to believe that a lot of locales 'cook the books' regarding crime reporting to make the area look safer than it is.
4. The FBI stats are a great idea as a previous poster mentioned.
5. We have a lot of quirky laws (or more precisely 'legislation from the bench'). In our area, there have been lawsuits where organizations sue to force communities to accept housing for drug rehab. So, you can be in a neighborhood with $600k houses and have a half dozen 'recovering' addicts next door. We have one such house in the neighborhood and I regularly see a dozen cars parked outside on a friday night at 2 am. The township is scared to death to investigate because of fear of lawsuits.
6. We have something called "Superfund" where thousands of sites with contamination were identified. A lot of them were old launderers and gas stations. I don't have a link handy, but you should be able to find a link.
7. We have 'home inspectors' that will inspect the home. You make the sale contingent on the results of the home inspection. HOWEVER, most of the home inspectors work very closely with the agents. If you can, try to find a home inspector that does not work for realtors but rather soley for the homebuyer.
8. Taxes can vary tremendously depending on the exact location where you buy. This is especially true in vacation areas. Each state, and in many cases, each locality can set it's own real estate tax rates.
9. If you have serious concerns about security, many states allow concealed carry of weapons. Each state has it's own laws and many will offer CCW permits to non US citizens. Other states such as New Jersey and New York make it almost impossible to keep any type of firearm even if you have a halo and white wings. Just look up "CCW" or "Concealed Carry" Laws. In many cases States have reciprocity where a license in one state will allow carry in another.
I hope this helps a bit. good luck and enjoy. There are some really great spots for just about any atmosphere (Mountains, beach, etc)
