Don't keep contacting your Solicitor

When you are sale agreed (if not beforehand too) you will be in contact with your solicitor. This is an essential part of the process, but you should try to cover as much ground every time you are in contact.

Solicitor costs are one of the big costs of buying a house, so it is important to keep them as small as possible, and you will be charged fro EVERYTHING they do - be it a photocopy of a document, or sending you an email. For me, working in IT I am used to sending and receiving hundreds of emails every day, so would tend to send them without thinking. Until I realised that each individual reply I get I will be charged for.

Now, by this I am not suggesting you don't make proper contact, just that if you are mailing to tell them the sale is agreed, maybe include the contents list in the same mail, the engineers report if you have it already, and maybe the auctioneers details or the vendors details - basically, whatever info you have at hand. The more concise and detailed you are the less communication needed and so the less costs incurred.

Also remember the solicitor is working for you - so get them to do what you want, but at the same time, be sure to tell them all you want done as many will not take it upon themselves to do so without being told.