How do you evaluate rehab costs for an offmarket deal?

[Alex Hymanson]

Hi all - I'm interested in purchasing an "as-is" property with an all-cash offer. Goal is to BRRR from there and use the refinance to fund the next property. That said, I don't have the skills (yet) to inspect a property to evaluate rehab costs / time. For instance, are there roof issues? Foundation issues? HVAC issues? What's the total cost of the rehab?

How have others gotten around this?  Do you bring an inspector / contractor with you?

Thanks for your insight!

Alex