what can an amateur do to make sure a home inspector is doing a good job?

dilapidated shingles; roof leaks, poorly functioning gutters, downspouts and splash guards; cracks in the sides of the house or in the foundation; windows that are hard to work or won't work; doors that won't shut easily or flush; poor tolerance clearings on doors and widows; worn or rotten weather-stripping;old, worn electrical wiring; light switches, electrical outlets that are non-functional (let me get my breath . . .) cracked walls, ceilings, or chipped molding; improper or wet insulation; no insulation behind the electrical outlets; dated interior plumbing conduits (like cast iron pipe); stopped up sinks, toilets, bathtubs; non-functioning bathroom exhaust fans; proper yard grading so that water runs away from the house and not toward it; window leaks, and I can't think of any more right now. . .

The key to your question is CONDO! The association is responsible for all exterior repairs and problems including pipes and electrical within the walls plus the common grounds.. All she can control is the airspace within the unit. Hopefully she has a good buyers agent representing her who is knowledgeable about condos and Condo Associations. She need to be sure that the association is properly funded to handle all maintenance and repair issues. Since the housing market declined, over 1/2 of the associations are underfunded due to foreclosures and many complexes will not qualify for FHA financing. Good Luck

Who hired the inspector? If it was your friend, then checking his references would be a good place to start. If you had no choice on the inspector, consider hiring your own to do a second inspection. It doesn't cost that much and any worries about the inspection should be relieved.

She needs to not piss him off. Treating him like he doesn't know s%it will do that. She needs to keep talking to him to a minimum, no distractions.