They laughed their a**es off at the inspectors office when I mentioned the address.Love the specifics of the area you mention, the stories you tell and I can imagine the stories you haven't :) .I think you'll agree though, with a "recent" conversion unless there is documentation of being a legal (somehow) two family, workarounds are just that, and will leave him vulnerable to all kinds of selective enforcement.

Also, can you take the inspectors report and use it as a basis for your SOW?

Hopefully an inspector will see/find those things, and can kill deals.

So you could ask an inspector to go with you but you'll be limited on time."

Much like I have the same basic certifications or education my HVAC, plumber, electrician, mechanic, pool guy and home inspector have.90 hours and a couple thousand could open more opportunities than buying the Real Estate for dummies book on Amazon, why get all the information without putting the extra effort in and being licensed as well?

Or am I fine with just an Inspector?

You could potentially go back to the inspector or maybe even the sellers if it was something material that would have made a difference on the decision to buy that was either withheld or not flagged as a concern when it should have been.

For the inspection periods, I call the inspector before submitting the offer and try to get him into the property the next day.

I had an inspector come in to check out a house I have under contract this morning.

@Justin Martin you would really need someone who is not just experienced but has experience in dealing with your local building inspectors and permiting office to see what is expected from them.Based on the potential things you have listed, that would be almost like a complete rebuild (sometimes more), so unless you are buying the property for the price of the land, I would be careful.