Buying experts - how to get a solicitor to do some work without actually stalking him?

[MyAngels]

Hi all

We are trying to sell (see my "Selling Experts -" thread..) and buy separately at the mo - buying a 220 year old cottage in the same town from a couple who are buying a brand new place, so extremely short chain.

There are some issues with rights of access for us to get across some council owned land to the new house's garage, but nothing desperately complex - its the last thing to sort before exchange. The solicitor has been working on it for a couple of weeks now and am frustrated by how long its taking for him to finalise it all. Our vendors have had some issues which have slowed their purchase down, so its all moving at the speed (or not) of the slowest purchase.

So our solicitor seems to think he doesn't have to do anything at all as the other's purchase is going slower - how can I "encourage" them all to get their fingers out? Any tips? Whenever I call (only once a week!) I feel like I'm nagging him. Have been hoping for an exchange "this week" for the last month! All paperwork is signed and he has the deposit in his bank account.

Both this and the sale feel like a lesson in patience from the almighty...I'm off to the Spirituality board now....

Thanks

I'm on week 5 of buying a garage. I'd like to know why everything is doneby post?

have you arranged a completion date or is it possible to pencil one in at this stage? We told our solicitor we would recommend him on a popular local forum if he met our date. You could also offer a cash bonus if you think that might be more enticing. We also called and emailed him daily. That's how it goes - you have to harass them basically. Our vendor held things up too with exchange but I'm sure it helped to have our solicitor calling theirs constantly. (or so he said.)