Can someone tell me if I am going about this the right way?
Okay...heres my dilemna.
I am in the process of getting ready to buy my first rehab property but I am stuck on a particular plan of action and I need you all to tell me what I am doing wrong:
The house is listed @ $37000 and what I what I plan to do first is hire an appraiser to get the as-is and after repaired value of the house.(tell me if my first step is correct). Then once the after repaired value of the house is obtained, I bring in a professional inspector to check for unseen problems w/ the house. Now this is where it starts to get cloudy to me b/c what I need to know is should the inspector be able to give me an estimate of the repairs or should I have brought him in before the appraiser?? And can all of this be done before I decide to purchase the house?? 
Someone pleeeeassse come to the rescue b/c this property won't last long...
I can see your confution,
I tried bank appraisal in wholesale condition for end value once. He appraised that home $7900 less than it appraised for finished with a buyer attached. I think it can be hard for some to bring there imagination and there check book.
If your not useing an RA then you might get a market analysis promising that if you list you will use them. I would recomend a top performer for the area that also has some knowlage of rehab. Pick his brain on what the bank expects and , (I dont know if you are renting or reselling,) what the end users like. I have yet to rehab a home for less than $15k so if its the normal stuff ,roof Kitchen bath garage repair, exterior paint including windows, interior wall and celing paint flooring and some order in the yard for a 1000 square foot house I gestamate labor and materails around $25k. Dont forget the minor details you will need to polish your gem. Your finished home will also have to make sence to the end user. I try not to look to hard I might scare myself off.
Someone on this site just said " double what you think your rehab cost is." I like that Especaily for the first one.
I think a home inspection ahead of time will give you an idea of what to expect. If Radon gas, termites, well, sepic bother you those tests are worthwile on a subject to offer, I allways do well septic and water potability. N.o underground oil tanks. If you cant tell if the stucture is sound or some other deal killer for your end user, you may need inpection. If that house wont last and the currant seller gets two offers within $5k of each other and one has no inpections wich one do you think he will take.
You may consider a realitor you can trust to point out deal killers. They can move much faster than bank appraisers or inspecters.
All of this seems a little touchy with the information I have on this (not much) Follow your gut do what is right for you.
Good luck Dave
Don't do all the appraisals/inspections before making an offer. Otherwise, you'll spend a lot of money on a property that you probably will not get.
You first thing, if you like the property, should be to get it under contract, with contingencies if necessary. If you find a problem later thru an appraisal/inspection, then you can renegotiate the deal or back out.
Roger
thanks for the reply gentleman...just to reiterate..my 1st plan of action after i get the deal under contract is to call an inspector right?...so that i may subtract the cost of any possible repairs that he may come up with from an appraiser's after-repaired value in order to get an idea of my max purchase price..correct?