A home is the largest purchase most people will ever make. It makes sense to find out as much as you can about the house you are interested in before you buy. That way you can avoid costly surprise repairs (possibly major) and problems after your purchase.
A professional inspection and report will give you a clear picture of the minor and major (if any) defects a property has. To bypass a pre purchase inspection is risky business, especially with older properties. An inspection costs about 0.05% or less of the purchase price of a property. Cheap peace of mind indeed.
If you are selling your home, a listing/vendor inspection will point out any potential problems that might be uncovered later by the buyers’ inspector. Finding them early will allow you to address them before listing your home, making for a faster and smoother sale and eliminating or at least minimising their opportunity to use the building report as a negotiating tool.