Farbet I guess I would lump it into the same basket as realtors and mortgage brokers. Find people who you know/trust and who have bought homes in the past few years. Then ask them if there was alot of stuff that seems to have cropped up that was not caught by the physical inspector.
A few things to help insulate yourself. Definitely bulk up on the home warranty and available options. Get the seller to pay for them. The home warranty companies can be pretty slippery though. Also realize that ANY physical inspection you have done is pretty cursory. If you are concerned about heating, get an HVAC guy. Concerned about the roof get a roofer out there. Concerned about foundation then get a soils or foundation guy out there. The first many pages of a physical inspection are chock full of disclaimers of nonresponsibility. A good physical inspector will point out alot of things that “could be” issues but he/she will always recommend further inspection by a qualified professional in that field. Also if you get a total clean bill of health on a property, pony up a few hundred more bucks and get a second one done. That cannot hurt.
