Find postcode and check council tax banding on VOA site

Look up council tax on local council website - this is a list you could print out and collect a folder of info for.

Environmental reports - flood, mines, Subsidence, radon, Landfill, Historical Landuse, Pollution
Free report available

Also lists number of planning applications made in the area since 1997 - but you can usually look this up on local council planning website too - but the overview tells you how many industrial/commercial which you might want to know about.

Plus People and Housing Market and Amenities map.

 

Flooding reports at environment agency

Look on the local council's website for building control applications. This covers things like FENSA (double glazing) Boilers, and Cavity wall insulation and some other stuff
Well worth being nosey!

Check how much it sold for. Lots of house price check sites online and you can do it via rightmove too.

Rightmove - get firefox and property bee and see how much the house ewas on for when it first went on the market!