Waiving inspections to win a bid: good or bad idea?

I think it is, especially for older homes. Unless you have a strong contracting background, waiving inspections is a dangerous game. A better idea would be to agree to absorb the first $x of inspection items that are found to make sure that you don’t unknowingly bite off a $10,000 (or more) structural issue. In other words, telling the seller that unless you find a really big and expensive repair, you are contractually agreeing to not ask them to make the repair.

It is akin to buying insurance with a really big deductible.