Steve, I e-mail a copy of the agreement to the client prior to the inspection for the same reasons John mentioned. Also, the last thing you would want as a consumer is to have a legal document dumped on you at the last minute to read, digest, and sign off on. If they don't have e-mail or a fax, they can drive to a local retail store (ie - Staples, Office Depot, etc) that offers faxing services for a small fee. If these options don't work, try the good old US Postal service.

The bottom line is that the inspection agreement is a necessary part of every inspection we perform and it needs to be followed through on in a consistent manner from start to finish every time. That piece of paper may save your butt ($$$) one day.

Every once in a while, you will get somebody who doesn't like a clause in the agreement or wants something changed. These are the things you want to get out in the open beforehand. Often times, you can explain that the verbiage is standard fare for inspection agreements and the client will accept your explanation. Other rare times, they may refuse to sign. Better to air these things out and lose one client every blue moon than to be saddled with a possible legal nightmare.