What is a Mortgage Adviser
A Mortgage Adviser is a professional who helps individuals navigate the complex world of mortgages.
They play a vital role in guiding clients through the process of securing a mortgage, building relationships, delve into individual circumstances, ensuring they make informed decisions tailored to their financial situations.
This role involves a mix of client interaction, financial analysis, paperwork, and collaboration with various parties. Let’s delve into the key activities of a mortgage advisor.
Client Meetings:
- Conduct meetings with clients to understand their needs and preferences.
- Explain the different mortgage options and assess their suitability.
Affordability Checks:
- Undertake affordability checks to determine the client’s financial capacity.
- Collect proof of income and perform credit checks.
Product Research:
- Research and identify the most appropriate and cost-effective mortgage products for clients.
Client Advice:
- Provide advice to clients, presenting the most suitable options based on their financial situation.
- Discuss financial options and repayment plans.
Paperwork and Applications:
- Complete mortgage applications and associated paperwork.
- Obtain agreements in principle for clients.
Communication with Third Parties:
- Interact with third parties such as estate agents, lawyers, and lenders.
- Facilitate a smooth process and address any issues that may arise.
Team Collaboration:
- Liaise with internal teams, administration, and support staff if applicable.
- Ensure effective communication and coordination within the organization.
Cross-Selling Protection:
- Identify opportunities to cross-sell protection products.
- Safeguard clients by offering solutions to potential risks.
This role demands a combination of financial expertise, interpersonal skills, and organizational abilities. The adviser plays a crucial role in guiding clients through the complex process of obtaining a mortgage, ensuring that they make informed decisions aligned with their financial goals. Effective communication and collaboration with both clients and other professionals in the real estate and financial industries are essential for success in this role.
Discover a profession that offers more than just a paycheck. With uncapped learning potential, flexible schedules, and the option to become self-employed, the role of a mortgage advisers is both rewarding and cost-effective to enter.
Earnings Structure:
- Salary vs. Commission: The earnings for mortgage advisors can vary based on whether they are on a salary or a commission-only basis. Those on a commission-only basis may have more variable income based on the number and types of mortgages they facilitate.
Working Hours:
- Contracted Hours: Many mortgage advisors are contracted to work between 35 and 40 hours a week.
- Flexibility: Advisors, especially those who are self-employed, often work beyond contracted hours.
- Evenings and Weekends: It’s common for advisors to be flexible with their working hours, including evenings and at least one day on the weekend. This flexibility is necessary to accommodate the availability of clients who are typically in full-time employment.
Client-Centric Approach:
- Meeting Client Needs: Given that clients seeking mortgages are often employed during regular business hours, mortgage advisors must adjust their schedules to meet client needs.
- Flexibility for Availability: Advisors need to be flexible to fit around both client availability and their own, ensuring they can provide timely and convenient service.
This information underscores the dynamic and client-focused nature of the role. Mortgage advisers must be adaptable to varying schedules, and the flexibility to work outside traditional office hours is a common practice in this field. Additionally, for those on commission-only structures, earnings are tied to performance, highlighting the importance of client acquisition and successful mortgage transactions.
Why CeMAP is Essential:
Now, here’s a crucial point to remember. In the UK, providing mortgage advice requires a qualification recognised by the Financial Conduct Authority, commonly known as the FCA. Without this qualification, you won’t be able to offer regulated mortgage advice.
Although there are many qualifications, CeMAP, stands out as the benchmark qualification in the financial services industry with over 115,500 of mortgage advisers having achieved this Certificate.
It’s a level 3 Mortgage Advice qualification and consists of three modules, each covering different aspects of mortgage advice. This qualification holds the coveted FCA approval, is Ofqual accredited, and is awarded by the London Institute of Banking & Finance, also known as the LIBF.
Career Options and Mortgage Roles
Whatever happens with the economy people will always move house or look to remortgage at the end of their terms. As a mortgage advisor there will always be demand for your skills and you’ll always be appreciated as a professional.
Buying your property can be an extremely stressful and confusing time for people, they will turn to you for your expert opinion to help them through one of the most important decisions of their lives.
As a trained mortgage adviser, you can work independently or as part of a company earning either a competitive staffing salary, commission or both.
Various roles within the mortgage advisory field cater to different expertise and interests with opportunities to move from entry-level positions to more specialized or managerial roles.
A trainee mortgage adviser.
You can often start as a training mortgage advisor as the first steps after gaining your qualification whilst you obtain your CAS with all work overseen and checked by an experience advisor while you learn the ropes and the practical elements of an advisor not covered in the qualification such as completing documentation, use of computer systems for finding best mortgage offers and presenting of advice.
Senior mortgage advisors
Conduct the standard duties of a mortgage advisor, plus are the go-to person for unusual and high profile cases.
Mortgage and protection advisor
Again will cover the standard duty of a mortgage, plus required to sell protection.
Mortgage managers
Will usually be responsible for a team of mortgage advisors.
New build mortgage advisors
Provide mortgage advice specifically on new build properties.
Whole of market mortgage advisors
Can access a significant range of different lenders to source the most appropriate product available to them.
Finally
Tied and multi-type mortgage advisors
Are either tied directly to one lender or a group of lenders and therefore are limited to the mortgages that they can recommend.
Any of these different roles can enable Individuals in the mortgage advisory field to choose between being employed by a company or work as a self-employed professional.