Estimating renovation costs for a short sale?

[Dan Benjamin]

There's a property a few hours away from where I live - it's in total disrepair, but the area seems decent, so I'd like to do an analysis to come up with a price that I'd be willing to offer. The big thing that I'm not sure about is how to come up with a reasonable ballpark for what I'll need to spend on renovations. I suspect that I would be able to get into the property if needed, so I could try to find a local inspector and contractor. My questions are:

- How important would it be for me to be there for the walkthrough?

- What can I do to maximize my chances of finding an inspector and/or contractor who will give me accurate numbers?

- Do you have any other advice for how I should approach this? It would be my first time attempting a flip, so I'm very open to any and all suggestions.