What to give clients after a home inspection

The report comes first, on time. After that, the most useful things are a short summary of what matters most, a maintenance list for the house, and a way for your client to keep the record past closing. Gifts are fine; payments to or from agents are not.

First: the report, on time

Everything else is extra. Your state may set the deadline: Illinois rules require the written report to the client within 2 business days of the completed inspection, and Texas rules set two days from completion when the client paid before the inspection (or from full payment otherwise), unless the client agrees in writing to something else. Whatever the rule, the client will judge you on how fast and how clear that report is.

What clients actually use afterwards

A short summary

If your report software produces a summary of the significant items, walk through it on the phone or at the end of the inspection. A buyer who understood the five items that matter is a buyer who does not call you about the forty that don't.

A maintenance list for this house

InterNACHI's Standards of Practice say a report may include additional comments and recommendations, and ASHI's say the report should include recommendations to correct, or monitor for future correction, the deficiencies reported. A short list of upkeep for this house (filter size, the water heater's age, the gutters, the dryer vent) is the part of the inspection your client will use for years. Our guide to maintenance tips in a report has a list to start from.

A way to keep the record

A PDF gets read once, at the negotiation, then lost in an inbox. Your report is also the best record your client will ever have of what is in the house: every appliance, its label, its age, its condition on the day they bought it. Point them to a way to keep it: a printed home book, a binder, or an app that reads the report into a house record.

A printed book

InterNACHI's "Now That You've Had a Home Inspection" book was designed for exactly this: a spot on the cover for your business card, handed to the client so they refer to it, and remember you, through the year.

Gifts: what the codes allow

A small gift to your client is fine. What the ethics codes forbid is money moving between you and the people with a stake in the sale. InterNACHI's Code of Ethics says members shall not accept or offer commissions, rebates, profits or other benefits from or to real estate agents, brokers or other third parties with a financial interest in the sale. ASHI's says inspectors shall not accept compensation, directly or indirectly, for recommending contractors, services or products to clients. So: give the client a useful thing, and do not take a fee for pointing them to a service.

Both codes also restrict repair work. InterNACHI members shall not offer repairs for an additional fee on a home they inspected for 12 months, and ASHI's code sets one year. Recommending a type of contractor is fine; selling the repair is not.

Their information stays theirs

InterNACHI's code says members shall not release information about the inspection or the client to a third party without the client's explicit, prior written consent, and ASHI's code says inspectors shall not disclose inspection results or client information without client approval. Anything you recommend for keeping the record should be something your client adds themselves, by their own choice.

Timing

Some inspectors send a short follow-up a couple of months after closing, once the client has moved in: a reminder about the filter, the smoke alarm test, the first season's jobs. It costs little, and it puts your name in front of them again once they live there.

Questions people ask

What do home inspectors give clients after an inspection?

The written report first, within any deadline your state sets. Useful extras are a short summary of the significant items, a maintenance list for the house, and a way to keep the record after closing.

Can a home inspector give a closing gift?

A gift to your own client is generally fine. InterNACHI's and ASHI's ethics codes forbid commissions or benefits to or from agents and others with a financial interest in the sale, and taking compensation for recommending products or services to clients.

How soon must a home inspection report be delivered?

It depends on the state. Illinois rules say within 2 business days of the completed inspection; Texas rules say within two days of completion when the client paid in advance, or of full payment otherwise, unless the client agrees otherwise in writing. Check your state's rules.

Can an inspector share the report with someone else?

Under InterNACHI's code, not without the client's explicit, prior written consent; ASHI's code says not without client approval. The client decides who sees it.

Related guides

Sources

General guidance, checked against the sources above on October 16, 2026. Not legal advice: your state's licensing rules, your contracts and the manufacturers' own instructions come first.