Inspecting a property before purchasing... tips? Good books?

[Steve Candor]

I'm a bit lost on how I should go about inspecting a property before I purchase it. How do I know if it's a good purchase without seeing any big things I might need to replace when I purchase?

Any good books I can read up on regarding checking the roof, boiler, etc?

Or should I just trust a home inspector on all these?

[Bryan L.]

@Steve Candor - The first few times that you use a home inspector, tag along with them and watch what they do. Also, you need to be making offers that are low enough that you will still make good money even if there are some unforeseen problems.