If you are a mortgage advisor or financial advisor wishing to deal with equity release mortgages, then you need to take your CeRER training and pass the CeRER exam.
According to the Safe Home Income Plans group, providers of equity release mortgages are showing a 14 per cent increase in business volume for the second quarter of this year with a total of £275 million of equity being release compared to £242 million in the first quarter.
This is split into 53 percent being lump sum mortgages, 42 percent being drawdown mortgages and 5 percent being home reversions. You will learn about the different mortgage types in your CeMAP training.
71 percent of equity release sales were completed by brokers, much more than direct sales, as people want proper mortgage advice in what is one of the biggest decisions in their life.
Director General of SHIP, Andrea Rozario, said:
“This success underlines the robust health of the equity release sector despite the impact of the credit crunch that is having such a negative effect on the mainstream mortgage market. It also serves to highlight the distinctly different forces that drive the equity release market relative to the mainstream market, including the fundamental pressures of the UK’s ageing population, falling levels of pensions contributions and the very high levels of personal wealth held in housing equity.”
According to Moneyfacts, it is because there are far more equity release products on the market now as well. A spokesperson said:
“There are 60 products now available to choose from, representing a rise of over 25%. The importance of equity release to an ageing UK population struggling with inadequate pensions has been heralded for a long time. Have we finally seen the flood gates open?”
Although the increasing volume of equity release mortgages is not on the CeMAP syllabus, it is often an area discussed on the CeMAP training course, and many newly qualified mortgage advisors go on to take their CeRER training.