You have the option of selecting a city inspector or private inspector (who is a regular home inspector on RRIO's approved list- we went this route), and he inspected the units the city requested, plus the exterior, roof, common areas...  

thank you @Mardochee Pierre very much although i do plan to flip it for a profit i would like to live there a year or two and make it a vacation rental when I'm not there and really don't want an inland house although i do notice a majority of the waterfront homes are actually just on a canal and there is the whole hones beech long beech rockaways etc... acting as a wall in my opinion.....mainly could you perhaps recommend an experienced inspector that could assist me when i visit the open house... they do provide all sorts of inspections and property information but i just don't trust them after all the whole thing is organized by some 3rd party company making a profit off the 6% commission at the auction so obviously they could be less than truthful... also any information from the state which owns the homes at this point i really wouldn't trust because i know the state can say one thing and than a local town official could come around and say oh no no you need to teat that house down etc...

Can you get a contractor or home inspector to find out how close the number the Seller's contractor came up with for rehab?  

Of course we will hire an inspector if we go to contract, but what things should I be looking out for to save our partnership the time and effort of a contract gone south should problems arise. 

I just had to save a deal from an inspector who scared the buyer with a list of things I can fix in 45 minutes  (loose screw, no gas cap on dryer line , etc).  

I work as a QA inspector for anaircraft company and have enjoyed my career for 8 plusyears.

It's an option to be considered, and it's big business for the many people involved in the process -- lenders, inspectors, real estate sales, the home improvement industry, construction, real estate attorneys, etc.  

Or should I also get a inspector?

You can start with an attorney, realtor, contractor, home inspector, and someone with expertise in financing.

I'm buying a pre-foreclosure property as-is (condition is okay when home inspector checked it out) SFR (3bd/2ba) property at $325,000.