Our Should I Self-Manage or Use a Letting Agent? guide covers the fee structures and the trade-offs in general terms. This tool runs the actual numbers for your property: the agent's real annual cost, the time self-managing would take you, and what that time is worth if you choose to put a figure on it, projected over 5 years.
Methodology and assumptions
The agent route totals the annual management fee (rent × percentage, VAT included in the percentage you enter) across 5 years, plus a new tenant-find fee assumed once every 3 years, a reasonable average tenancy length. The self-management route totals the hours entered per month across 5 years, and, only if you enter a non-zero hourly time value, multiplies this into an indicative time cost for comparison. The break-even time value shown is the hourly rate at which self-managing's time cost would exactly equal the agent's 5-year fee total, useful for judging whether your own time genuinely makes the agent worthwhile. This tool doesn't account for an agent's ability to negotiate a portfolio discount, doesn't factor in the compliance liability that stays with the landlord either way, and treats every year as identical, real costs and time commitment vary.
This tool doesn't recommend self-managing or using an agent. It's designed to make the financial and time trade-offs visible using your own figures, not to tell you which is right, since that depends on factors it can't capture: your confidence with compliance, how far you live from the property, and how you'd genuinely feel about the work itself.
Frequently asked questions
Does this tool tell me whether I should self-manage or use an agent?
No. It shows the financial and time trade-offs side by side using your own figures, including an indicative time value if you choose to enter one, but it deliberately doesn't declare a winner. The right choice depends on factors this tool can't capture, how much you'd genuinely enjoy or resent the work, your confidence with compliance, and how far you live from the property.
How is the indicative time value calculated?
It multiplies the hours you enter per month by the hourly value you place on your own time, then totals this over 5 years alongside the direct costs of self-managing. This is entirely optional and only shown if you enter a value, since not everyone wants to put a number on their own time.
Does this replace the full Self-Manage vs Letting Agent guide?
No. This tool runs the numbers for your specific property; the guide covers the fee structures, the compliance liability that never transfers to an agent, and the decision framework in full. They're designed to be used together.
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✓ Editorially reviewed — all Poqet guides are checked for factual accuracy before publication and updated when UK rates or legislation change. Editorial Policy