Do I still need someone in the UK?

For anything physical, yes: viewings, key handovers, inspections and emergency callouts need a person in the UK, whether that's a trade you call, a relative, or an agent on a reduced service. Everything else is information work, and that's what August does from wherever you are: rent matched as it lands, compliance deadlines tracked, documents stored, tenant messages on record, expenses categorised. Plenty of overseas landlords keep a local agent for the legwork and use August as their own independent picture of rent, costs and certificates, so the monthly statement is something you verify rather than something you take on trust.