The tedious business of house buying can be avoided through the alternate and increasingly popular route of buying property at auction.

Although, the process can take a month or even less, you will see rival purchasers and know what they will pay but buying property at auction can attract homes with problems such as those needing renovation, have sitting tenants or are flats above shops.

But canny buyers visit auctions frequently to pay a lower price than that prevailing in the market so long as they do their research and are not unfazed by the pressure of the bidding room.

Some of the best auctioneers for property

Allsop: offers everything from individual flats to landlord portfolios

Auction House: mostly in London, eastern England, the Midlands and the north

Barnard Marcus: properties across the UK but auctions in central London only

Barnett Ross: based in north London, selling homes requiring renovation to full blocks of apartments

Brendons Auctioneers: specialising in low-cost flats and small houses in London suburbs and commuter areas

Brown & Co: East Anglia and Midlands auctioneers, specialising in rural property

Countrywide: wide range of homes with auctions from Exeter to Glasgow

Fox & Sons: homes and shops in Southampton

Griffiths & Charles: specialising in Worcestershire property, sometimes selling house contents

Hunters: selling homes and shops in York

Martin & Pole: auctioning homes in Reading and Wokingham

Michael Poole: auctioning homes in the Newcastle area

Penny Cuick: small homes, flats and local shops in Birmingham suburbs

Savills: usually higher-end houses, auctioned in central London or Nottingham

Seel & Co: low-cost flats and houses in south Wales

Sharpes: low-cost homes in Bradford, popular with buy-to-let bidders

Shobrook & Co: Plymouth auctioneer specialising in tenanted homes, part-vacant investment properties or those requiring renovation

Strettons: mostly low-cost homes in London and southern England

Symonds & Sampson: Dorset auctioneer known for homes and building plots

Wilsons Auctions: specialising in small homes and shops