A book is a poor substitute for a professional home inspector. To
expect a typical home buyer, who won't even know what flashing is, to
climb up on a roof, inspect it and determine if it's done correctly is
crazy. Home inspectors see thousands of homes and all the common
problems so they know what to look for. I know someone is going to say
inspectors don't know squat, and I would agree there are some that are
not worth their fee, but this is like choosing any contractor. If you
do it right, you'll get a good one. And even if you don't, for someone
who isn't knowledgeable about home construction or maybe hasn't even
owned a home before, any inspection is better than none. Another key
point: An inspection report done by a home inspector is going to carry
a lot more weight in negotiating with the seller than a
non-professional opinion of the buyer. And in most cases, the
inspection more than pays for itself. It's rare for an inspector to
not find at least a few hundred dollars in repairs that the seller will
then negotiate off the purchase price. When I bought my home, I got
$1K+ in concessions from the seller after the inspection and the house
was only 8 years old.

For the OP, I'd make sure the purchase contract has an inspection
contingency. Then, get an inspection done. If it shows no major
issues and the house is fairly priced, then you can go ahead and buy
it. If it needs some bigger cost repairs, then either walk or get
estimates to repair and ask the seller to lower the price. And I'd
make sure I had a lawyer review the contract before signing, as for
most buyers, that is money well spent too.