Is the friend that is recommending the solicitor the same friend you're buying from - I'd personally avoid that situation.

Also, go to a firm that specialises in dealing with conveyincing who are likely to have fixed fees and be fairly efficient - i.e. you wont be paying partner rates for the bits (big bits) that can be done by the legal executive.

There are also some solicitors who now work from home and just do this sort of work they can be cheaper (and good) but what happens when they go on holiday? I know of one person who was leaving messages for their solicitor only to find out that they were on holiday and their message box was full!

Even the most straightforward property sale seems to take time to complete