Yes, even new ones. There are two good reasons. The first is that no matter how many disclosures the sellers may make, you need to have an independent and compe­tent third party tell you the condition of what you are buying. There may be problems with the property that even the sellers don't know about. Second, if there are problems, you can use them as a negotiating tool to get the sellers to correct them, lower the price because of them, or both.

 Hawaii home inspections are relatively new. Ten years ago no one even heard of them. Today virtually every buyer (and seller) wants one, and for good reason. Homes have reached the stratosphere in terms of pricing. The medium price for a resale as of this writing is around $125,000 and climbing. It is higher for a new home. In many areas peo­ple regularly pay $300,000 or more for a home. At those prices you just can't afford to buy a pig in a poke. You must know what you are getting.

It's also important to understand that there are literally thousands of parts to a home and more than a dozen complete systems. Today's modern home has heating and cooling systems, waste water and potable water systems, electrical, phone, and cable systems to name only a few. In addition, there are the foundation, the chimney, the roof, the floors, the insulation, and dozens of other areas where problems can occur. Unless you happen to be in the building trades and are an expert on these, you won't know if they are in good shape, broken, or ready to fall apart. (Even if you're a plumber, you probably won't know what's right or wrong with the electrical system.)

 Further, repairs can be costly. Here is just a sampling of what it can typically cost to repair or replace various items:

 Fix roof—$5000 to $10,000 or more

Add insulation—$500 to $2500 or more

Convert galvanized steel plumbing to copper—$5,000 or more

Improve drainage—$500 to $10,000 or more

Fix cracked foundation or slab—$5000 to $50,000 or more

Fix chimney—$2500 to $10,000 Convert 2-wire to 3-wire electrical—$5000 or more

And many, many more

 The inspection, hopefully, will reveal most problems. Then you can insist that the sellers fix them, or at least compromise and demand that the sellers pay a substan­tial portion of the costs.

 You can also use problems the inspec­tion reveals as a lever to force the seller to lower the price. You do this by threatening to back out of the deal unless price concessions are made. (It's important that the sales agreement specify that you have a certain number of days to approve the inspection report and that if you disap­prove of items, the deal is off)