In real estate, you have to know what every line item is or should be, otherwise you risk jumping at a "great deal" that is anything but.

You can also consider these repair items as part of the basis if you sell the home down the road. 

It is so difficult to predict all of those items.  

Once the build and/or remodel is completed, most policies predicate that you have 30-60 days to obtain regular insurance for the premises based on what type of occupancy it is; ie, if you are moving into the property, then you would get an HO (Homeowners policy), if it's a rental, then you would obtain Landlord policy or a Dwelling Policy to actually cover the building (since you own it, but not the contents, since presumably, the tenants should obtain renter's insurance to cover their items).

One item I'm running into is lots of calls, but little to no motivation.

<g>Ever notice how on those carpenter shows even the most complicated wood working details:  complex finger joints, delicate inlays, and etc. all fit Perfectly the first time?

My agent is great, but I also know its ALOT of work for him to put the items needed to have the companies quote it.  

@Chih Pih for item 2 I don't think the seller should have had to do anything.  

I look at the individual items on the credit report.

If the adjuster doesn't know when something was replaced, even though they are typically pretty good at estimating, you may not get as much to replace an item as you should.