If you like to save on commissions Then landlords have a better choice now, no longer do they have to bear and grin and pay £100s to an Agent. Traditionally you would have to use an Agent because:

• Advertising was very expensive and not cost effective to private individuals or landlords with small number of properties. Now that the market is so tough the need to cut costs is even more urgent.
• Displaying a 'For Sale' or 'To let' board would cost a lot so agents can bulk buy boards at a time and pay very little for each board, plus agents can re-use their boards again and again, lowering their costs further. 

Now days most agents sell or rent their properties on their book the same way as you could do yourself.  Most Agents these days due to financial restrictions, don't have the time to perform viewings so you employ an Agent to perform this task, yet you end up actually performing the viewing yourself because the Agent said they were too busy?

You may have been told that you legally have to use an Agent? This is not true. Agents perform no legal duty even though they earn more money than professional solicitors.   I you are already with a Sole Agent and have been told you can't sell or let your property yourself! - This is most certainly not true and any agent restricting you is breaking the law and can be reported to trading standards under the 'Unfair contracts act'. Some may also try to enter a 'Sole selling rights' clause, simply tell them to remove that immediately. You can sell or let your home yourselves and NOT pay the commission even with a Sole Agent.

Agents are not necessarily qualified valuers, that's the job of a surveyor, you can use our site to get a valuation similar to what an agent can come up with. All agents do is set a reasonable asking price, something anyone can do by looking on any property website or local paper for a similarly priced property.

In today’s tough financial conditions, need for Estate Agents is minimal. You can sell or let your property faster and save whilst your property is on with a trusted agent. Estate Agents now sell most of their properties via the internet so they are not doing anything beyond what you are able to do anyway.

Having said that you may have a good relationship with your favourite agent and for a small cost you can still advertise your property to help them market it for you.