In this situation, is it better to get a property through regular means, look what is on the market (through realestate agent), or maybe go through a sheriff sale?

I almost exclusively sell bank foreclosures for a large asset management company, and I also do a lot of marketing for wholesale deals.

Alternatively, investing in money markets is another consideration.

The market between the 2 locations & resident class (Especially if you plan to self mange or find a PM company), Your future goals and the costs associated with moving and transferring to a new hospital. 

@Andrew Lastivka Are you still interested in the phx str market?

Curious about your experiences with the market, occupancy rates, and overall returns.

It turned out well but a great market also helped with that.  

Quote from @Daniel Tanasa: Hello Terry, If you're looking to find houses that are in pre-foreclousure you can use a website like www.foreclosure.com and you can get the list of properties and start marketing to them. 

The IRS seems to hedge on this and I see other custodians marketing say you cannot have full time employees.

SF is a very unique market, and actually may be a great time to buy right now, especially if they can successfully turn the city around.