When you buy a home it seems like there are so many reports that need to be made. You are advised to get the home appraised, inspected, checked for termites, surveyed and so on. Why so many different reports?

Each report will tell you something different. Yes, sometimes they overlap each other, but they all offer something that another report won't cover.

Lenders make loans on the sales price or the appraised value -- whichever is less. The appraisal is an estimate of value by an independent third party. This reduces the lender's risk by assuring that the property is worth what you are paying for it. You, the buyer, can feel sure that you are getting a good deal.

The inspection is very important. It is not an appraisal. The appraisal helps confirm the home's value, the inspection looks at the home's condition. The professional inspector checks all of the systems of the house, from the structure to the electrical to the garbage disposal. Does the dishwasher work? How old is the roof and when will it need to be replaced? Is the electrical wiring up to code? The home inspection report will tell you what needs to be repaired, when and at what amount the repairs could cost.

The termite inspection is equally important as your home is probably built of wood. Most lenders will require a termite inspection, but not all will require a home inspection. You should insist on both inspections to protect your best interests. You don't want to buy a home just to find out in a month that termites have destroyed the structural safety and it will cost you $80,000 to repair the home. The termite and the home inspections would help protect you against this.

Buyers must know about a property's condition. You may think that you can tell a lot about a home by switching light switches and looking in the crawl space, but would you think to look in a basement furnace for rust as a sign of basement flooding? An inspector would.

The survey shows the boundaries of the property, where the improvements are located, the size of the property and other factors such as easements and encroachments.

This is also important. For example, if the current owners have somehow added a garage that barely straddles the lot line, a neighbor could demand its removal. IT may turn out that the property is much smaller than advertised, or that the fence belongs completely to the neighbors.

The survey shows any easements, or right of ways for others to use your property. For example, there is often a Public Utility Easement, or PUE, on a property. This gives that utility the right to enter your property and install, maintain or repair their system. The local electric company might have this right to maintain their poles and wires across your land.

So do you need all four checks? Yes. This is the best way to know exactly what you are getting. In real estate, surprises aren't a good thing. When all your bases are covered you can sleep at night.