Mortgage Advisor Training/Career

rothers

Morning all,

Could I pick the brains of any mortgage advisors please?

My circs are that I am 50 years old and am in a position to retire with an immediate pension, that pension, along with my wife’s wage is more than enough for us to live comfortably on. The issue is that I have had enough of my job, I’ve done it for the last 25 years and I fancy a change. I have looked online into retraining to be a mortgage advisor, am I correct in thinking that I need to pass the three CeMAP exams, are there any other qualifications necessary?

Finally, is it realistic to become an independent mortgage advisor straight away without working for an estate agent or bank etc? I appreciate that getting clients will be tough to start with but like I explained, I don’t need a full wage immediately and am happy to build it up gradually. 

Any help/advice would be gratefully received. 

Many Thanks

K_S

@rothers

Yes, CeMAP is required to be able to work as a Mortgage Adviser, though do keep in mind that it doesn't really help in the job itself

Imho, it's not realistic to start working independently right away. I wouldn't say it's just about getting clients, as there are plenty of ways to get leads nowadays, especially if you're savvy with digital marketing.

It's more about the rest of the environment - compliance, a safe space to make mistakes, someone to ask questions of, getting used to dealing with applicants and lenders, etc. Plus you will struggle to get an umbrella firm to take you on without CAS (competent adviser status) and experience.

On the plus side, there is a shortage of advisers and there are opportunities for trainee roles up and down the country, perhaps remote as well. A few large firms are also running 'academies' which might be another option. 

rothers

K_S said:

@rothers

Yes, CeMAP is required to be able to work as a Mortgage Adviser, though do keep in mind that it doesn't really help in the job itself

Imho, it's not realistic to start working independently right away. I wouldn't say it's just about getting clients, as there are plenty of ways to get leads nowadays, especially if you're savvy with digital marketing.

It's more about the rest of the environment - compliance, a safe space to make mistakes, someone to ask questions of, getting used to dealing with applicants and lenders, etc. Plus you will struggle to get an umbrella firm to take you on without CAS (competent adviser status) and experience.

On the plus side, there is a shortage of advisers and there are opportunities for trainee roles up and down the country, perhaps remote as well. A few large firms are also running 'academies' which might be another option. 

Thanks for your reply K_S, I’ll have a search online for trainee roles or academies. Ideally I didn’t want to work full time which I suspect would be necessary if working for a company but I’ll have a look. If it is necessary to work full time then I certainly wouldn’t rule it out at this stage, I am only 50 after all! 

Thanks again. 

[Deleted User]

depending on the firm CAS can take anywhere from 12-36 months.   Once you have that it is a heck of a lot easier to start doing things in your own way and being on your own with your own working hours. 
During the CAS phase someone has to be responsible for you so you kind of have to march to their beat until you get signed off.

ACG

I think the issue you have (and I promise I am not trying to make this job sound like brain surgery) is that in order to do this job you need to understand that lenders vary. You only pick that up over time and it also changes over time. 

To put this into context, I took on a trainee. The cheapest lender where the client fit criteria and passed affordability, I was 99% sure would decline the Decision in principle. My trainee could not understand as everything fit. I told her to do the DIP, it failed. We then went to the third lender on the list, I was much more confident it would pass with them - it did. That is knowledge I built up over time. It took me about 18 months before I felt like a broker as my first 12 months I think I did about 10 mortgages. It was only when I got going that I improved. 

It is not just a case of making sure everything fits, you also have to understand lenders appetites. The big question is, can yo do that doing the job part time? 

Added to that, you then have the fact that lenders appetites change. Can you keep on top of appetites and changes doing 1 or 2 mortgages a month? 

If you cant, it is not really fair on your customers. Especially with so much at stake. 

I do not think this is a job you can do part time personally, especially if you have no experience in this part of the industry. 

rothers

That’s interesting and has certainly given me food for thought so thank you for that. Like I said, I wouldn’t rule out being full time but that wasn’t my intention initially. 

Cheers. 

[Deleted User]

When i first started in the industry i joined an estate agency firm.  Not the best of fun but it had a massive compliance department to help me get my cases right first time.  They gave me leads to 'practice' with and I had a team of 20 people I could ask if i got stuck.  
One thing that stuck with me that is related to ACG's point was that the industry as a whole loses 35-40% of all new brokers in their first year.  That first year just sucks. I hated it and apparently 40% of people hate it enough to quit the job altogether.  

rothers

Deleted_User said:

When i first started in the industry i joined an estate agency firm.  Not the best of fun but it had a massive compliance department to help me get my cases right first time.  They gave me leads to 'practice' with and I had a team of 20 people I could ask if i got stuck.  
One thing that stuck with me that is related to ACG's point was that the industry as a whole loses 35-40% of all new brokers in their first year.  That first year just sucks. I hated it and apparently 40% of people hate it enough to quit the job altogether.  

Wow, that’s a huge number resigning, what is it about the first year that’s so tough? 

[Deleted User]

probably too variable a question but from my point of view it massively depends on the type of business you end up doing.    If you get nice easy case then brilliant but for a large degree those people will either be going direct to the lender or be using a robo advisor doing it for free.

When you have been doing the job for years you still get cases that stump you. The issue when you are first starting is that every case is going to stump you and there is so so much criteria for lenders that will reject a case that they dont even publish.  
Even years on from starting its still an infuriating job when you get a policy decline that wasnt written down anywhere prior to submission. 

I use about 70 lenders (most of whom you will never have heard of) so although I dont have to remember everything about everything I do have to always retain an up to date knowledge on criteria changes as when you speak to someone you need to sound like you know what you are talking about.  

And to add to this, 30% of purchases fall apart so even if you do get to offer then there is a good chance that the transaction will fall apart anyway and you will never be paid on that deal making all your time and efforts wasted. 

I could rant about this job all day! I do enjoy it though :-)

Also, Cemap doesnt help in any way, shape, or form.  Its just a box to tick to get the job

ACG

I do love this job but there are times it is infuriating, I agree with JMA. 

Little things can catch you out, most lenders will ignore debt if you tick the box to say it will be cleared. 2 lenders in particular however will still assume the debt will remain. Things like this can catch you out and then you have wasted a couple of hours and look like a fool to the customer. 

I think the reason a lot of people pull out will fall under one or more of the following:
Lack of income in the first year unless employed.
Pressure from management if employed. 
Compliance and lenders being a PITA. 

It is like any job, there is a learning curve. Its just that the learning curve as a broker is constantly changing as lenders change, rules change etc. I am not trying to put you off, but I think you will be surprised it is not an easy job in the first 6-12 months. 

london21

Am not a broker but work within finance/compliance.

The major thing I can think of from a client's perspective is: it takes thick skin because you could have spent hours putting a case together and things can fall apart but over time with experience will get better.

Do they do work experience type training that you can work with an experienced mortgage advisor to begin with.