if you end up making an offer, always put in there that the sale is contingent upon the housing inspection. i'm not sure how canada works, but in the u.s. you need that. because of that we ended up being able to bargain on our house. there was a structural issue with the house and we told them that we wouldn't buy it unless it was fixed before the closing date. they fixed it (we were the only offer they had on the house). also in the u.s. there's a sheet the current owner fills out that will say if the owner knows of anything wrong with the house. the agent should have that and it's always good to look it over. we got one before we put an offer on the house.