If your intention is to embark on a career in Financial Services as a mortgage advisor, then the right thing to do is undergo CeMAP training course.
You will not need academic qualifications to enrol on the course and there no specific eligibility criteria to pass the CeMAP exams but one thing you will need is a strong will to succeed in a highly competitive industry. There are CeMAP training courses available for individuals who are new to the mortgage industry and those that have no mortgage background or work experience whatsoever.
To acquire the Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice (CeMAP) qualification, you must achieve examination passes in each of the following three CeMAP modules.
CeMAP Module 1 - UK Financial Regulation
CeMAP Module 2 - Mortgages
CeMAP Module 3 - An assessment of mortgage advice knowledge
If you undergo intensive training course, you can obtain the certificate within a few weeks. The examination comprises of three multiple choice computer based exams. Modules 1 and 2 are assessed in a two-hour exam consisting of 100 multiple choice questions. Module 3 is assessed in a two hour exam, but is made up of only 60 questions. You can take these examinations at your convenience. The examinations are computer based and the results are notified immediately. Each exam has a minimum pass mark of 70% per unit. CeMAP 1 is made up of two units, and a score of 70% must be achieved in each unit to pass the module. Should you fail a specific unit, you have to resit the exam for the specific unit only instead of the entire module.
It is mandatory that you should be CeMAP qualified to offer martgage advice. CeMAP is a nationally recognised NVQ level 3 qualification. CeMAP is a recognised qualification awarded by the ifs School of Finance. The CeMAP qualification has been developed in cooperation with the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).
To really prepare yourself for a long term future career, it is important to undertake a comprehensive and thorough CeMAP training course, and not attempt to undergo the crash courses that are widely advertised. It is vital for your future career that your training is total and complete and that you do not just end up with a piece of paper that says you are qualified but woefully lacking in knowledge. The ideal course to choose may be the exhaustive, tutor-supported, home study courses where you can study at your own pace and learn the study material peacefully and thoroughly.
When comparing CeMAP training with other possible career options, the long term market growth situation is a critical factor in deciding whether CeMAP training is the right choice. In comparison with most other markets, CeMAP training does provide the gateway into a career which has shown year on year growth. Even if we assume the growth rate of mortgage industry is slower, there will still be a shortage of CeMAP trained advisers. Thus the employment market for anyone freshly qualified through CeMAP training is expected to continue to be very promising. Yet another encouraging fact is that many existing mortgage advisers are approaching, or indeed have already reached their retirement age, and there is expected to be a serious dearth for qualified CeMAP professionals in the foreseeable future.
It is common knowledge that the mortgage market is currently going through a rough patch because of the financial crunch in the market. But that need not deter the CeMAP aspirants. We need to remember that thousands of mortgages are still being approved every month and many mortgage brokers are still earning handsomely by selling protection products like life insurance, mortgage protection and re-mortgages.
The UK mortgage market offers a very wide choice of around 4,000 products to its customers. It is one of the most competitive markets where there is a growing pressure for lenders to devise innovative strategies to stay and prosper. However in such types of markets constant innovation is one of the determining factors in differentiating the winners and losers. The rating agency Standard & Poor has visited a wide variety of lenders in both the prime and nonconforming sectors. Overall, it appears that the competition within the market has resulted in a variety of product and servicing innovations. In recent times, the U.K. mortgage market has seen a proliferation of product and service innovations within an increasingly competitive lending environment. As a result, borrowers are the beneficiaries as they can now repay their loans on an interest-only, capital and interest, or any other flexible basis. Apart from convenient and easy payment terms, borrowers have the option to choose from a range of fixed, discounted, or capped interest rates.
The Mortgage market in the UK substantially differs in comparison to the markets in other countries because there is no intervention in the market by the state or state funded entities. In the UK Mortgage market, lenders usually charge a valuation fee, which is a very nominal amount for a chartered surveyor to visit the property. Such type of superficial survey is not a full comprehensive survey and it may not identify all the defects that a house buyer needs to know about. Even it does not form a contract or a legal binding between the surveyor and the buyer.
According to the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA), the UK mortgage market is essentially sound in spite of all the turbulence in the global financial markets. IMLA confirmed that the problems in the financial and mortgage markets are not due to any problem with the credit quality of UK mortgage books, but fears among investors that UK lenders could run into the same problems that have taken place in the USA.