Cemap 1 Studies

homer_j_3

Dunston, there is more money in giving mortgage advice over being a sales consultant in an EA. There will be exceptions for sure but here in the northwest, I know that a few national chains, rely on exchanges each month to break minimum wage.

How many employed mortgage advisers can say that if they did not sell a mortgage, they would be not breaking minimum wage. I think from exoerience of being an adviser in an estate agent, this could be a good move financially for the poster.

However. the job has its equal pressures and I do not think the financial aspect is the reason to come into it as the high rate of failure and leavers from the industry demonstrates that, like estate agents, looking into the job, it can look a lot rosier than it actually is. I remember many a day, I was in the office before any of the EA staff and was still there when they left.

richev

thank you for all your replys.
Seems i have some thinking to do.

im 25 and still searching for a career. I need to sit down and think about what i want to do.
any other bits of advice you have would be great

homer_j_3

richev,

Could you not approach this job offer and discuss a trainee position? Maybe start as an appointment maker for the advisers already there. In return you will be able to get enough insight into what the advisers do and have sufficient resources to ask questions when the info just doesn't quite sink in?

I would say that there are reasons why someone with no previous industry experience will fail at becoming a mortgage adviser

1 - Personality + Attitude are not correct.
2 - Misconceptions of the role of the adviser/Industry
3 - Inability to remain motivated and focused due to the economic up's and down's.
4 - Do not get sufficient support or time to perfect the skills required.

When I worked in the EA that I did, they claimed that to take on a mortgage adviser, who was already qualified, it cost them about £16k in the first 6 months of working. This was because the authorisation process involved, the induction of learning their systems and processes. The time involved having someone "sign you off" as competent and then for the money to start rolling in when they have been outlaying a wage for you.

Once you realise this, you will quite understand that your employer wants to get their investment back as soon as possible. So what tends to happen with most employed positions is that they are filled with people who have experience on the basis that they will not need to be "hand held" as much.

You will be expected to work long hours and to be responsible for your results. You will need time to understand more than what you get taught in your CeMap and you will need to learn to multi task.

If you know someone personally that does the job, I would try and see if you can do a days shadowing and see what you think. The skill and knowledge may seem easy to some but its like anything, when you have mastered any skill, you can make it look easy.

TEDDYRUKSPIN

I recommend that you take Cemap 2 and Cemap 3 first. Cemap 1 is the hardest to do.

Advice? Did you notice the bolded black words the outline in the book? These are the things they always ask questions on. Go through the book thoroughly!!! Do not skip on it. The revision notes are ok but not good enough to get you to pass!

Pass papers are good and the CDT also but will only make you prepared. The best bet is to go through the whole thing by a fine comb.

How do you know if you like it or not? Only way is to get employed by a company on a trainee role. No one will allow you to shadow as this is a FSA regulated area and due to data protection act. Banks and buildings societies will allow you to join after you obtain Cemap 1. Some take you on straight away and you have to pass within 6 months.

Good luck. Not many jobs are coming out for mortgage advisors as the market has gone quiet.

DerryBoy_2

richev wrote: »

thank you for all your replys.
Seems i have some thinking to do.

im 25 and still searching for a career. I need to sit down and think about what i want to do.
any other bits of advice you have would be great

Hi Richev,

You seem to be in the same situation as me. I am also 25 and looking to get into a mortgage advisor career. I have no previous experience in the industry - I am currently working in IT. I have been studying CeMAP 1 in my own time over the last few months and took the exam last week, which I passed. I registered for the course on www.ifslearning.com for £135, which includes the course material. I also purchased a revision guide which was good.

Now that I've completed CeMAP 1 I am allowed to give advice under supervision. I am currenlty living in Leeds but am looking to move back to Derry in Northern Ireland and start my new career there. I have spoken to a small local mortgage company who are hopeful of offering me a position, but only once the market picks up as things are very very slow at th moment due to the lack of confidence.

I am now unsure over what to do in the meantime. I have just registered for CeMAP 2. Should I stay in my IT job until the market picks up or should I continue looking for positions at home? I will then face the issue of how to go about getting a job in Northern Ireland while I'm still based over here. I would ideally like to work for a small company to get experience. I don't mind taking a pay cut and earning a low amount in the short-term. I would prefer to do that and learn how to competently advise clients than to go work for a ruthless sales orientated position straight away.

Any advice on what I should do would be very welcome!

Also - how long do you think it will take before the market picks up again? I am hopeful that it will recover when people get the confidence to buy again, perhaps with a couple of interest rate cuts in successive months. Even if house prices do drop, this shouldn't affect the industry excessively. Am I being very naive in thinking this? What does everyone else think?

Anyway - good luck Richev!

dunstonh

Also - how long do you think it will take before the market picks up again?

Last one took about 4 years. We are about 5 months into this one.

Its a bit like asking how long is a piece of string because a lot of the problems are down to sentiment rather than logic and there is no way to tell when sentiment is involved.

Mortgage advisers and IFAs are going to be happy to take on those with client banks and renewals they can bring with them. Its not a good time for new recruits. That said, there are always exceptions.

Even if house prices do drop, this shouldn't affect the industry excessively. Am I being very naive in thinking this? What does everyone else think?

I went through the last and and we didnt really have remortgaging back then and it decimated the estate agents and many advisers went under. Especially those that sold life assurance on indemnity terms and started to get frequent clawbacks.

This time round the remortgaging market will be stronger but first time buyers may hold back and wait whilst it drops. Buy to let repossessions in particular will increase which could have a double whammy as some of these may not only lose one house but two or more, including their own residential. So, housing supply to buy could increase and if priced to sell quickly starts to become the norm then expect prices to drop quicker.

No-one can predict what will happen but I would expect over a year on this one and severity will depend on a number of factors of which only time will tell.

jonny123_2

Hi there,

i am currently do my cemap exams and actually took my 1st cemap exam today (module1), i passed unit 1 but failed unit 2. i found that the questions on the actual exam were totally different and MUCH harder than the ones on the specimen papers, as these were fairly easy. i've looked all over the internet for questions similar to the ones that were in the exam but they are all the same as the specimen papers.
does any1 know if the Competence Development Tool (CDT) cd from the IFS directly, has similiar questions as the real exam? or would they be the same as the specimen papers. just really need to know if its worth buying the cd as it costs £166. the test is so hard!!
thanks.

richev

hi all.
i have spent 2 weeks at a training ctr for cemap 1, 2 and 3
was a bit to muych info to be honest.

i have my cemap 1 exam on the 9th april and im studying so i can be ready for the cemap 1 exam. cross fingers.
im sure the industry is struggling. But it seems to be a better career than everything i have previously done in the past. better hours, better pay.. Im sure it has negs to it like everything does..
I decided to go and try the cemap stuff.. When i pass i will be able to try the job as well.
If it does not work out for what ever reason then so be it. i tried. i know it will be ok though. cant be any worse than my previous crap paid long hours jobs. !!

richev

and to reply to 1 of the posts above

thats a good idea to maybe try and be a appointment booker. that way i will get into the area and just being there will help. can only try !

minimike2

2 Weeks? Thats a short time to be studying....

Back when I studied, although it was a bit different, the recommended time to study for 1 2 and 3 was twelve months in total....that we PRE regulation, so there will be more in it now...