Buying real estate means negotiating as much as possible and those who get the best deals are those negotiate till the very end. Once the owner presents the inspection report buyers have a list of points to negotiate with in order to bring the price of the property down.
The best way of doing this is to hire an independent home inspector. Once the home inspectors report comes through you can negotiate with the homeowner to have the problems fixed or to bring down the price since you will be incurring the repair costs. Sometimes the home inspection report arrives after the deal is signed. In this event the chances of negotiating a lesser price is easier since the deal is already signed and the seller knows you want the property. There have been instances where sellers have made a huge reduction on the price once the inspection report revealed a few hitches. Therefore you can afford to use this to your advantage and insist on a reduction or threaten to pull out. Since the fact is revealed in the inspection report the sellers will have to deal with the same problem with a new buyer, so they might as well deal with you.
Negotiating a real estate price is never easy as buyers want the lowest prices and the sellers highest price. However, if the inspection report reveals a few problems with the property buyers will have a stable foundation to negotiate on.