Help wanted re becoming a mortgage advisor

purplepatch

Not sure whether this should be on this board, but thought that this was most relevant place to put this question as there seem to be quite a few mortgage advisors about on here.

My husband is 40 this year and is currently reflecting about his career and where it's going. He works in the pensions industry (administration not selling) and can't bear the thought of doing it for the next 25 years . Its a pretty thankless profession which gets more and more complicated with the passage of time and new legislation etc, and he wants out. Obviously he is numerate etc, used to dealing with people daily (over the phone) and is accustomed to admin work.

He has always been interested in the mortgage industry and is wondering about the possibility of becoming a mortgage advisor. I feel it's a shame that he is in an admin role as he has the sort of personality that people always really warm to and I personally think he is wasted stuck behind a desk.

Given his age and lack of relevant experience, I just wondered if anybody could offer any advice. As we have a young family we really need him to continue earning his current salary for 3-4 more years, but after that we could afford for him to take a paycut. Could this interim period be used for gaining any qualifications etc?

Any advice anyone could give would be hugely appreciated.

payless

HEY

My wife said

My husband is 40 this year and is currently reflecting about his career and where it's going. He works in the mortgage industry (administration and selling) and can't bear the thought of doing it for the next 25 years . Its a pretty thankless profession which gets more and more complicated with the passage of time and new legislation etc, and he wants out. Obviously he is numerate etc, used to dealing with people daily (over the phone) and is accustomed to admin work.

He has always been interested in the pensions industry and is wondering about the possibility of becoming a pensions administrator

payless

Seriously

For exams look at http://www.ifslearning.com/
for Cemap

To be fair, I don't think they are the hardest set of exams he will come across, especially if used to working in the f/s industry

Whilst I would not want to work for one myself (again) , banks, Building socities and large estate agent chains would be a good training ground.

If he could get a training position in a local respected mortgage brokerage or IFAs all the better.

AS Mortgage advice is now regulated , and costs are higher - so costs of employing a "trainee" can be off putting

Avoid the ad's in the papers for " be a mortgage broker" earn £1000's

many want up front fees , poor leads and offer a small % of the commission
earned, possibly selling poor value products


Best of luck.

purplepatch

payless wrote:

HEY

My wife said

My husband is 40 this year and is currently reflecting about his career and where it's going. He works in the mortgage industry (administration and selling) and can't bear the thought of doing it for the next 25 years . Its a pretty thankless profession which gets more and more complicated with the passage of time and new legislation etc, and he wants out. Obviously he is numerate etc, used to dealing with people daily (over the phone) and is accustomed to admin work.

He has always been interested in the pensions industry and is wondering about the possibility of becoming a pensions administrator

That's made me smile - all I can say is DON'T DO IT!! That was my area before becoming a full time mum. Never ever again! Although technology should be programmable to stay abreast of industry changes, the resources are never put into this - only ever put into looking for new business - and the administrators are left to calculate everything manually. Then when mistakes are inevitably made fingers are pointed at you the administrator, the senior management never take any responsibility for anything :mad: . Anyway, rant over.

Anyway, thanks for the advice payless. I've just had a quick look around on the IFS website and it all looks pretty straightforward and the fees aren't too bad either. From what I gather the modules are multiple-choice questions, so that sounds pretty basic stuff - no horrible essays etc.

Dare I ask what sort of basic salary you can expect when you start out? Not sure whether you can answer this as probably varies regionally. We are based in Kent. Also, do you get a fair amount in bonuses/commision etc as pensions admin gives absolutely zilch over basic.

payless

Yeah I thought it was good :-)

again suppose I would don't do it!



salary
-
its been 12 years since I was a salaried adviser, as I now work for myself -
I could earn a lot more if I worked for one of the big players, but prefer to be my own boss.

Would have thought anything between £15K-£25 basic with a bonus after hitting a target / quota / hit rate
( targets. quota's -now thats why I don't work for others)

depends in what market one works in, and what range of products he advises on.

why not speak to http://www.lcplc.co.uk/ and see if one of their guys would give a guide.

dunstonh

That just reminds me why i do not do mortgage business. So much pain for so little gain compared with designated investment business.