Becoming a mortgage adviser again

Wake_up_call

I posted about this a couple of months ago in another part of the forum, but thought it was best to ask again here due to this being the place where the industry insiders hang out.

Long story short, I want to become a mortgage adviser again.

I worked in financial services for the best part of a decade, passed full CeMAP in early 2007 and worked as an adviser for five years at a major bank and then one of the biggest building societies.

I left the industry to pursue a career in media relations before returning to financial services at a mortgage servicer last year in a PR capacity.

My current employer does not do any new lending so there is no options there and I have been knocked back in two external applications.

I feel that with my experience I can be a good adviser again, but it seems that doors have been closed on people like me post-MMR, which I find baffling as the job was so much tougher back when I did it successfully during a recession.

The market also seems to have been flooded with customer service workers now calling themselves advisers because new regulations has led to them being pushed through CeMAP and CF1 & CF6.

Does anyone have any advice?

Senior_Paper_Monitor

If you think the job was tougher pre-MMR you are certainly missing a trick - the business environment might have been tougher (and those who survived all the way through should be be best able to handle the next dip) but the task of advising on and processing a mortgage has certainly not become easier.

As a bank/building society adviser (whether CeMAP qualified or not) pre-MMR you may in for a 'rude awakening' if you go to an independent adviser position (indeed we are just recruiting someone with a similar background - and we would have you, as we are them, working 2 - 3 months as an admin before commencing the Competent Adviser process).

No offence / 'put down' meant but I can understand potential employers'concerns - but on the good side, most independent advisers I know are gagging to recruit at the moment.

Wake_up_call

I can only go off where I used to work, but back then we had targets for everything making the job a challenge. I was successful at it.

Since then, my former employers have removed the sales culture and mortgage advisers do just that, advise on mortgages. They have no targets to meet and do not have to cross sell. For that reason, I believe their job has become easier.

For brokers, I accept MMR has thrown up a number of challenges that bank/building society advisers simply do not face.