conversation: User (stripedfermata): "My BF and I have been living in this house for the past 5 years, and paying rent to his great aunt/cousin. Great Aunt recently passed, and the cousin would like to sell us the house for a reasonable price. \n\nIt's a two family house in the suburbs of a big city, walking distance to two train stations and easy access to the highway. The house has had no major renovations done in the time we've been there (realistically, in the past ten years or so - the last major thing we know about is the roof being replaced around 13 years ago)\n\nCousin said he is comfortable selling to us around 100k less than what the town values the house at, which is at the higher end of our budget. However, there is another, comparable home currently on the market for 50k less than what the town values it for with no action for several weeks in what is currently a seller's market. I understand that every home is unique in its needs, this is just the closest thing we could find for comparison. \n\nOur worry is that the house is going to need too much work once we get into the nitty gritty of it (the house still has original horsehair plaster walls with no insulation, no air conditioning, some knob and tube wiring, structural issues with the chimney, and we would need to add on at least 1 more bathroom, ideally 3) and we'd be more comfortable at around 50k less than what Cousin is asking. \n\nI have a reliable contractor who has done work for several people I know and he is meticulous. Ideally, I would like him to do our home inspection, even without him being a "certified inspector" so that he can give us an idea of what repairs/renovations will cost. \n\nWould his inspection report be a good tool to use when negotiating a price, or should we be looking for a certified inspector instead?"
  Self: "If you've never owned a house before you shouldn't take a project like this on. If you think the house needs too much work, it probably does. \n\nUsually inspections happen after an offer is made. In this case you should definitely push to have one first. "
  