Neither involve any pitches or selling... just real estate minded individuals (investors of all levels - from want-to-be to seasoned professionals - realtors, service providers etc) that get together and discuss real estate investing.  

Most cases with Hard money it is temporary financing with minimal standard guidelines.

My experience is that REIA tends to be heavy-handed with the sales pitch, while PIN is more investor focused.

Practice your pitch!

I've tried to buy decent properties in decent neighborhoods to minimize my risk, which also means there's not a TON of monthly cashflow, but I'm in it for the long haul and really truly looking for passive income or at least as passive as it can be. 

I understand that a rental listing will not generate as much as a sale would, but I think a minimal standard should exist (especially since I plan to buy properties in the future).

I believe that this approach minimizes downside by exploring the numerous currently for sale opportunities with assumable mortgages.

Screen tenants, Implement thorough tenant screening processes to minimize your risk of vacancy and potential rental income loss.4.

We allow the seller to leave anything behind they don’t want to deal with, and we minimize disruptions by arranging only one showing.

The property taxes are a bit high but I made up for it with rental increase and minimal updates.