Contractor: def going to do a walk through. The home was under contract a few months ago & it didn't go through - I don't know why. The realtor won't say because it wasn't listed with him at the time. I may even do a contractor walk-through in lieu of home inspection. What are your thoughts? I know a few good contractors personally who say home inspections are often expensive and contain a lot of irrelevant BS. I had a similar experience when I bought my home - home inspector listed all kinds of erroneous little issues.
Honestly, my inspector is my hero and has saved me serious money, so I always do both. Actually, what I do is:
1) Get the contractor to pop by and estimate what he or she can before making an offer.
2) Make offer with inspection contingency.
3) Have inspection done.
4) Send inspection to contractor to refine estimate/add any critical items.
I always look for an inspector that is also a landlord, a tradesperson, or both, so that may be why I've had such good results. I just know that in the market I'm focusing most on right now, my inspector spends a ton of time with me after delivering his report to talk through the issues, advise on what is worth fixing immediately, later, or never, and has been a huge help to me. It's also been a source of reassurance because the inspector isn't counting on you completing the deal to have made their money.
Anyway, I am not trying to convince you one way or another (and probably having a trusted contractor really evaluate the place critically will do just as well), just offering my positive experience with inspection.