If you can fix some problems by yourself or at a lower cost by the people you know, concentrate on getting a credit toward closing costs rather than asking the seller to fix them.
If you do not want to deal with repairs and get a home ready to move in, then ask for fixing the repairs.
Remember that reducing the selling price will reduce your base for property taxes if your county makes its assessments based on the selling price.

Attend a professional home inspection at least once

You may learn quite a lot by accompanying a professional home inspector during home inspection. If you do your homework by studying the information on this web site and reading some books on home inspection, what you see during home inspection will make more sense. You will comprehend the concepts and physical inspection more clearly.

Have a upperhand in your foreclosure investments

If you are interested in buying and selling foreclosure homes of any type (single homes, condos, apartments, townhouses, etc.) you will gain a life-time experience to conduct your own foreclosure home inspection. This knowledge will help you even if you hire a professional home inspector for high-value foreclosure properties. You may ask home inspector to check areas where you suspect some defects, deficiencies, and system failures.