A key stress-inducing factor, according to Legal & General’s poll, was time, with 46% of home buyers having to wait between three and five months to complete their home move.

Here are five top tips to help you move home quickly.

1. Check your estate agent’s credentials

Don’t just choose the first estate agent you see online or make a bee line for your local branch.

To sell your home quickly without flogging it at a discount, you need a skilled agent with a proven track record.

According to analysis by consumer group HomeOwners Alliance, nine days is the optimum time your home should be listed for sale before a buyer is found if you want to secure an offer that is above your asking price.

Before listing, investigate the agent’s sales success rate, share of the local market and the average price received using the HomeOwners Alliance checker or a comparison websites such as Get Agent.

2. Instruct your solicitor when you list your home for sale

“Don’t wait to receive an offer on your home, instruct a conveyancer when your property goes on the market,” said Andrew Clark, partner of law firm SAS Daniels Solicitors.

Your solicitor can start work ordering your deeds from any previous firm of solicitors, requesting information from your mortgage lender, completing the property questionnaire about fixtures and fittings ready for your buyer and gathering together leasehold information if necessary.

If you are selling a leasehold flat, contact your management company to let them know. They can start to put together your management pack for the buyer’s solicitors which details any fees they will be liable to pay and future maintenance of the building. Obtaining this pack can often be the biggest cause of a conveyancing delay.

3. Think carefully before using your lender’s offer of free legal work

Lots of mortgages come with the offer of free legal services which can worth from £300 to £500. Although the service is free, brokers say that’s the only saving grace of this perk.

Chris Sykes, technical director, of mortgage broker Private Finance, said: “We recommend borrowers use their own solicitors particularly if they want their purchase to move forward as quickly as possible. It is luck of the draw which firm you will be allocated and there’s no way of vetting the firm beforehand.”

Mortgage lenders use a small pool of legal firms for their free legal work. In periods of high homebuyer demand you can find yourself at the back of a long queue of buyers causing delays to your home move.

“We’re dealing with a free legal case at the moment which was supposed to complete in January but is still being delayed by conveyancing in March,” added Sykes.

Your solicitor’s fees cannot be added to your mortgage but some lenders offer cash back of £500 which can offset some of your costs.

4. Be mortgage efficient

Submit all paperwork including bank statements, payslips and identification as soon as your broker or lender asks for them.

Once your mortgage offer has been issued, keep an eye on its expiry date. Mortgage offers are valid for between three and six months. If your offer is close to expiry, notify your broker or lender so they can start the process of extending your offer before it runs out.

5. Be flexible with your moving date

Rob Houghton, chief executive of moving services firm, Really Moving, said: “It may not be possible to avoid the busiest month of the year for home moves, which is August, followed by July and September. But being flexible on the day of the week you move can make a big difference to how quickly and easily you secure a removals firm.”

Friday is the busiest day of the week to move house so if you choose this day to move it could add weeks to your timescale. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are quieter days to move and should be quicker to book.

Firms often offer incentives such as mid-week moving deals so not only could you save time, you may save money too.