I am not looking for it to be easy or to happen fast but I know it will be beneficial in the long run.

It occurred to me that it may be beneficial for some of us to post issues they had scaling up, and what creative solutions were devised to achieve your goals?

However, if you are still interested in doing it, you might want to have a lawyer take a look at the contract and explain any issues that are not beneficial to you.  

They had several design meetings, usually after work, half an hour or so of reviewing tile samples and pictures of light fixtures and pillows - followed by 3 hours of drinking a bottel of wine and talking about mutual friends and how to safe the world.

I tracked down the owner through mutual friends in FB How did you finance this deal?

Appreciation and cash flow aren't mutually exclusive, but you may want to focus on one or the other so that you can narrow your criteria/strategies accordingly (you certainly can have both though!). 

I am asking if there is any events that are open within the surrounding area that you might know is beneficial for a new comer like me.

I recently posted an article that you find find beneficial that goes through what I call the HELOC Snowball. 

Is this service legit and beneficial? 

If I could find an investor with enough cash to fund the whole thing it would make it way more beneficial for the both of us being able to cut out the bank.