I wouldn't consider hiring either the home inspector, or the surveyor, as a racket -- I consider it doing due diligence, particularly when I'm considering an investment of tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. Same way as, if I was planning on investing the same amount of money in a single company, I'd hire an external CPA to come in and audit the books. Me? I shelled out for the home inspector (well worth the money in our case -- we backed out of an offer based on the home inspector's report), but didn't bother with surveys, because the property lines were well defined, and the house was clearly within any local setback requirements.

Also, for what it's worth, land surveyors are licensed professionals who sign off on work -- if they put their name to something, they are legally liable if it's found to be wrong.

Of course, you'll find crooks in any line of business.