Suppose that you spend $250 to have the home you want to buy completely inspected by a qualified inspector, and you find out that nothing is wrong with it. Now you can sleep soundly, knowing that your home doesn't need any corrective work. If you skip the inspection to save $250 and later discover that your house needs $25,000 worth of repairs, you'll end up spending $100 in repairs for every dollar that you "saved."

Here are reasons why every property should be inspected prior to purchase:

Used houses: You're most likely to order inspections if your "new" home is someone else's used house. Obviously, the older the house, the greater the likelihood that you'll find defects in its mechanical and structural systems.

New houses: Even if you're buying a newly constructed, never- been-lived-in home, having it thoroughly inspected is wise. Just because the building is new doesn't guarantee that it was built properly. Believe it or not, brand-new houses often have construction flaws, sometimes major. Some home builders are not competent, or they cut corners to save some money and boost their profits.

Condominiums: You need an inspection before buying a condominium. Don't forget that when you buy a condo, you're also buying into the entire building in which your condo is located. As a co-owner of the building, you'll be assessed your proportional share of the cost for corrective work required in common areas, such as the roof, heating system, or foundation.

Townhouses, cooperative apartments, and all other forms of co-ownership property: See the preceding paragraph about condominiums. Shared ownership doesn't get you off the hook. You still need property inspections.

All properties should be inspected. Inspect detached residences, attached residences, single-family dwellings, multifamily dwellings, condos, co-ops, townhouses and anything else that has a foundation and a roof. If you're spending big bucks for a property, protect your investment by having it inspected.