Savvy Sellers take great care in preparing their homes for selling, and in a brisk market where they are positioning their homes for multiple offers, they often take the extra step of having a recent home inspection report available to prospective buyers. The question buyers have is whether to take the report as the whole truth and nothing but the truth, or should they get their own inspector come through. Some people believe that the report provided by the seller will be manipulated or skewed to benefit the seller, but I have witnessed inspectors refuse to lie or misrepresent the report even when asked by the customer. Sellers are required, by law, to disclose any known issues, both latent (hidden) and patent (obvious).
The buyer can always perform their own due diligence and hire an independent home inspector. They could also contact the home inspector who did the report on the house to ask questions or hire them to come through the home again. Many times it is just not feasible for a buyer to hire their own inspector due to timing or cost and having a report ready to be delivered upon request to all interested parties may encourage an extra offer or two. In my opinion, any Seller who expects their home to sell in competition must have a pre-sale home inspection to provide to all interested buyers, no two ways about it!