Doing it yourself means that you're not working in a 'controlled environment' any maintenance organisation worth it's salt wouldn't be prepared to except this as they have to sign-off all the work done up to the ARC submission. I also understand that if you do decide to go the DIY route it will require CAA surveyor input which will probably cost more than using a Part M maintenance organisation. Now the sad thing is that MOs are going to be landed with a lot more bureaucracy as well extra licensing costs and this ultimately means more costs to owners. It would seem that the UK CAA are as usual interpreting the new rules more stringently than our European counterparts.
I ask the question: what was wrong with the old M3 system?
I know some owners think that their existing MOs are not very good but do you really think they will be any better under EASA; same guys handling the spanners!
Re the LAA - this is fine if you don't want to fly over towns and cities or don't want to fly in IMC or at night and the annual permit renewal is not any cheaper than the annual ARC.