To get your house sold quickly (especially in the current market) one option is to opt for sale that's not part of a linked transaction. In other words there's no sale chain involved. That's where a firm firm specialising in buying homes can help.

In the current difficult market, selling quicker probably means a sale in less than 12 weeks. Selling in days rather than weeks is becoming something of a rarity. This is for several reasons. Even professional house buyers are becoming more cautious. With an avalanche of properties coming through their doors we can pick and choose.

So,  investigate this option, but do your own due diligence: in other words check things out properly. There are certain situations (we feel) really demand that you deal directly with the person buying your property. Working through a middleman adds further complication when you'd be better off  selling direct. After all, cutting out the middleman (agent) was one of the reasons for going down this route in the first place.

If you are selling for convenience only then all this hardly matters. However if you're facing court or must leave the country then the risks of working through a middle man are somewhat greater.

Selling this way can still be the perfect solution. But it's just now as easier is it was and you'll almost certainly get less for your house than you would have at the peak of the market.

Here are our top tips for getting your house sold to a professional house purchasing company - so that you avoid some of the more common hitches associated with selling this way:

1. If you get an offer, ask you will actually be buying. Ask for a written step by step guide to what's involved in the sale. Get a best and worse timeline from them

2. Insist categorically in meeting the buyer

3. Declare all your debts and financial commitments. If you fail to, it could scupper your sale.

3. Find out whether the sale is contingent on a mortgage application. If so ask for confirmation of the lenders DIP within two weeks.

4. If the availability of funds or finance in principle cannot be confirmed, walk away.

The key point is to deal with a firm which operates a transparent process.