Testimonial: how online management saved me 3,200 EUR in one year

Before: delegated management at 8%

I have owned 2 apartments in Namur since 2018. A 2-bedroom in the Bomel district (rented at 780 EUR) and a 1-bedroom in Jambes (rented at 720 EUR). Two residential leases of 3-6-9. Gross rental income: 18,000 EUR/year.

Since purchase, both properties were managed by a local estate agency. Fees: 8% of gross rent, i.e. 120 EUR/month for the 2 properties. Plus letting fees (1 month’s rent per turnover), plus claim management fees (50 EUR per intervention). Over 6 years, I paid approximately 11,500 EUR in fees to the agency.

What I received in return: a monthly bank transfer to my account, a 2-page quarterly statement, and a phone call when there was a problem. For detailed questions (indexation, charges, property condition), I had to call and often chase. The management was adequate but opaque.

September 2024 — the decision

The trigger was an indexation episode. In September 2024, I discovered that the agency had not indexed the 2-bedroom rent for 2 years. Net loss: approximately 420 EUR (2 years of unapplied health index increases). When I pointed this out, the response: “We forgot, we’ll do it at the next deadline.” No apologies, no compensation.

I did the maths: 1,440 EUR in annual fees + 420 EUR in forgotten indexation = 1,860 EUR of lost income just for that year. For a service I could provide myself with the right tools.

At 49, a teacher, I am organised and have school holidays to manage occasional tasks (re-letting, inventories). The decision was made: I would take back management on 1 November 2024.

October 2024 — the transition

The month of October was devoted to the transition:

Week 1: notification of mandate termination to the agency (3-month notice provided for in the contract, but the agency agreed to an immediate departure in exchange for 1 month’s closure fee, i.e. 120 EUR). Recovery of the complete file: 2 binders of documents.

Week 2: getting to grips with a rental management software. Entry of the 2 properties, 2 active leases, document upload. Configuration of payment alerts and automatic indexation. Time spent: 4 hours.

Week 3: notification to both tenants of the change of manager. New bank details for transfers, new contact for requests. Both reacted well — one even told me: “It’ll be easier to call you directly than going through the agency.”

Week 4: first month of self-management as a trial run (November). Both rents arrived on the expected date. No technical issues, no panic.

Day-to-day self-management

After 12 months of self-management, my routine is well established:

Every month (30 minutes):

• Payment verification (automatic notification on the 5th day if absent)
• Receipt generation and sending (1 click per tenant)

Every year (2 hours):

• Automatic indexation with pre-filled letter
• Charge statement (comparison of provisions vs actual expenditure)
• Verification of tenant insurance

Occasional:

• In April 2025, first re-letting managed alone: advert publication, 18 applications, 6 viewings, tenant selection, online lease drafting, inventory with expert. Total duration: 3 weeks from advert to signature. The agency typically took 4 to 5 weeks.
• In June, a bathroom leak in the 1-bedroom. I called a plumber directly (intervention: 180 EUR, covered by the tenant’s insurance). Previously, the agency would have charged 50 EUR in management fees on top.

Total time: approximately 3 hours per week on average, with peaks during re-lettings. That is more than 0 (when the agency managed), but amply compensated by the savings.

The 1-year review: 3,200 EUR saved

Here is the financial review of my first year of self-management (Nov 2024 - Oct 2025):

Savings:

• Agency fees eliminated: 1,440 EUR/year
• Letting fees saved (1 turnover): 780 EUR
• Indexation correctly applied (catch-up): 840 EUR
• Claim management fees saved: 150 EUR
• Total saved: 3,210 EUR

Costs:

• Management software subscription: 0 EUR (free version sufficient for 2 properties)
• Expert inventory: 350 EUR (shared 50/50 with tenant)
• Miscellaneous (registered letters, photocopies): 45 EUR

Net gain: 2,815 EUR in the first year. In subsequent years, without re-letting or indexation catch-up, the gain will be approximately 1,440 EUR/year (pure fee savings).

Three conclusions after 1 year:

1. Self-management is accessible to any organised landlord. You do not need to be a property expert. Online tools guide every step: lease, receipts, indexation, statements.

2. Direct contact with the tenant is an advantage, not an inconvenience. Both my tenants appreciate having me as their single point of contact. Problems are resolved faster, without an intermediary.

3. An estate agent remains useful in certain cases. For a portfolio of 5+ properties, for a non-resident landlord or for complex legal situations, delegation makes sense. But for 1 to 3 properties managed from Belgium, self-management is almost always more profitable.

For more testimonials: How I automated managing my 3 apartments, From paper to digital management and Testimonial: a real estate agency digitalises its management.