A smart way to purchase property without regrets after the sale consummates, is to put safe guards in your sales contract that give you a safety net.  One of these nets is to always make any offer subject to a SATISFACORY property inspection.  Now, whether you can perform this yourself or hire a professional, you still have a legal way of voiding the contract to purchase if something should be revealed that could cause potential financial risk down the road for you.  Finding such an inspector is not a hard task and word of mouth within the real estate community is usually the best route. But you can also locate potential inspectors on the internet as all should be licensed with their state. 

You are looking for hidden or masked areas of structural, electrical and plumbing problems that the owner is purposely or inadvertently not disclosing that could be major issues down the road for you. If you feel you possess adequate expertise to perform your own inspection, be sure to pay close attention to the following list of possible trouble areas:

• Roof age and/or present and future damage, insufficient gutters and downspouts, etc.
• Foundational issues such as cracking in the cement or side walls and sloping issues
• Evidence of black mold or water marks on the basement walls, also be on the look out for potential places water could seep in down the rode
• Pest infestation in the trusses or wood areas as well as any dry rot
• Old water and sewer lines that may be unusable\
• Bare, stripped or missing electrical wiring and red flags for fire hazards

Another area of concern that most home buyers take for granted, is past land use that could have caused residual soil contamination. Such as, if a gas station or industrial business that typically used gas or cleaning solvents in the past or the property was used as a dumping ground for hazardous/toxic wastes of some kind.  

These types of properties are extreme red flags for new buyers as the property could be rendered worthless in the future unless the waste was removed in an appropriate manor and that could costs thousands of dollars.  If the property is suspect to any waste issue, you can hire companies to do an Environmental Audit on it for clearance and it would be well worth the costs.  If you do not suspect contamination issues, I recommend that you use the following checklist to just give yourself peace of mind:

• Check the ownership for at least the prior 50 year
• Contact some of the past owners for information on any adverse affects on this property
• Check the city or townships cross-reference files, topographic maps, aerial photos and any geological reports you can find for possible red flags against the environment and any reports with the city and state that may show past claims against this property or adjacent ones for environmental problems.
• Search the property outside thoroughly yourself for buried or topical issues that look suspect such as odd stains to the soil or strange odors.  Dead vegetation is a bad sign.
• If there are up or underground storage tanks, get a thorough examine of their condition for possible leakage

There was a Residential Lead-Based Hazard Reduction Act that helps to control the possible hazard of this chemical of homes built before 1978. All homes before that date must disclose any evidence of this dangerous paint before selling.

There is a HUD Housing Handbook, 4910.01 R01, available to purchase online that will also aid you in property inspection issues and minimum property standards for any housing in your state.

You always want to present yourself as a serious buyer and a good way to do that is to show up with your own personal inspection kit and a ton of questions at the property with the seller before any price or terms are discussed.  Travel around the property thoroughly and gage the owner's reactions to your gentle probing. You will be able to sense if they are hiding issues that could affect the sale of this property.  This also gives you a great opportunity to point out obvious repair issues to the seller and to determine just how serious they are to selling when you discuss the costs up front. 

So, while you are expressing your seriousness and expertise on the property inspection, you are also mentally taking note on whether you can get a good deal and still have monies to perform any repairs.  This can all be done without insult to the property or seller so as not to damage your attempts to get a good deal but at the same time, affectively alerts the owner that you do not intend to pay full price.