Mario Romero went to work for a large commercial property management company as an assistant property manager, training in the management of office buildings. In his early training days, he was closely supervised by an experienced manager who assigned to him full responsibility for a small office building, in addition to assisting on other properties.

After a few months, Mario found that he not only liked office building management, but he had demonstrated to himself and others a real talent for handling the many varied duties and responsibilities of a property manager. For example, he had observed that many areas of knowledge were involved in managing commercial propertyhousekeeping, lease preparation, building systems maintenance, roof repair, and exterior grounds upkeep.

Through contacts developed by networking in professional organizations, Mario was hired to manage a single-occupant landmark office building in Long Beach. After some years there, missing the variety of duties of managing multiple properties, he accepted a position as the chief asset manager for a large commercial investor that owned extensive rental properties throughout California and the western United States. Mario now oversees the operations of dozens of property managers and a staff of several hundred.

1. Mario, like most property managers, discovered that he preferred a specific type of property management. What are the advantages or disadvantages of working as an employee-manager as opposed to working as a third-party manager?
2. List reasons why property owners would choose to hire a property manager rather than manage the property themselves.
3. Why should a property manager be concerned about ethics?