4 Simple steps to start a new career as a mortgage advisor

This a great question which many people often ask themselves, there's no right or wrong answer, but there may never also be a "right time" to start a new career. A survey conducted before the lockdown showed that most people looking start a new career as a mortgage advisor were either furloughed or lost their job due to the pandemic.

The UK's population is growing, and there is a huge demand for new homes, this has caused a shortfall of qualified mortgage advisors. There's also a wide range of businesses that hire mortgage advisors such as estate agents, banks, private lenders, and qualified advisors can work for themselves.

Great! Here are four simple steps to get started.

A career as a mortgage advisor can be extremely rewarding with salaries starting from £24,000, and experienced advisors can earn over £50,000 with commission on top. It's still crucial to research the role and to be sure that it's right for you.

You'll be dealing with people on the phone, face to face and by email. Advisors will also be dealing with lenders, so it's important that you have excellent communication skills.

Paperwork, unfortunately, there will be a lot of paperwork involved, which means you'll need to be organised!

If you think that this may not be suitable, then don't be deterred, communication and organisational skills can easily be improved by practising and on the job.

In the UK, all mortgage advisors must be qualified to provide advice to their clients. The qualification is called CeMAP, and it is awarded by The London Institute of Banking & Finance. Students must pass three exams to be a qualified mortgage advisor; the exams are held at external examination centres across the UK.

Several external training companies provide CeMAP Training courses online. The price for courses can vary with some providers charging over £600. Still, there's also a few that are incredibly affordable and lets students pay for the course in stages, and some newer affordable training providers have recently featured in the BBC.

The course usually takes 230 hours to complete, so ensure that you set some time aside to study. If you're already in the financial industry, then you may want to try some practise exams to see if you're ready for the real one.

Exams, we love them, don't we? No? Don't worry; you're not alone! The CeMAP exams have 100 questions for Module 1 and 2. Module 3 has 60 questions, and you'll have a time limit of 2 hours. Try to be calm and use of every minute. If the exam has 100 questions, then set yourself a target of getting to question 25 in 30 minutes and question 50 in 1 hour. This way you'll be using your time productively without rushing or being to slow. If you're unsure about a question, then move on and come back to it.

You've done it! 230 hours of studying, passing three exams and now you're fully qualified! Congratulations! Now what?

Mortgage advisors have great flexibility when applying for jobs as there are several options out there. Newly qualified advisors can apply at banks, building societies, local estate agents, private lenders and online mortgage advice companies. Mortgage advisors also have the option of setting up their own business and working from home, and this is an excellent option for people with young families.

Whatever career path you choose, you won't be short of options!