Working as a mortgage advisor can be a very rewarding occupation, both financially and in terms of job satisfaction. Self-employed advisors are able to earn excellent money when they have gained experience and built up their client lists.
Furthermore, it is a role that will always be in demand, as the desire to buy a home is constant and most people need guidance during the process. It is the feeling of helping people to achieve their dreams that makes the job so pleasing for many advisors. However, before they can get to that point, they must complete the CeMAP course and examination.
So what are the best options for funding that before you start to earn as an advisor?
Grant funding
One method prospective advisors can use is to apply for grant funding. The CeMAP course will come under the heading of ‘adult learning’ and there are often grants available to cover the costs of that kind of study. One of the benefits of applying for a grant is that – if you are successful – you will not be required to pay back the money when you qualify.
This is an excellent reason to look into the matter, because you will not immediately begin to earn good money as an advisor. Like most skilled professions, your earnings will rise over time as you become more experienced and add to your industry knowledge. The best way to find out if there is one you can apply for is to search online for adult learning grants.
Bursary funding
If it is not possible to finance your course using a grant, you may be able to get bursary funding. Although these are often viewed interchangeably, there are certain important differences between them. They are mainly a matter of who provides them and what the criteria for getting one is.
Grants are typically provided by the government, whereas a bursary is most often awarded by funding authorities or actual educational establishments. The criterion for a grant is generally academic merit, while bursary criteria are more about financial circumstances. If you can meet that, you could secure bursary funding to study for CeMAP. As with a grant, this money would not have to be repaid.
Study online
Undertaking the course using an online CeMAP training company is another option. While this will not eliminate the costs, it can cut back on them. Many online providers offer the CeMAP training modules at a lower overall cost than real-world training centres. That is simply a matter of their having fewer overheads than such centres, which enables them to reduce the prices for their students.
A second argument in favour of studying online is that some providers – like this one – offer one of the modules completely free of charge. The idea is that this allows you to find out if the CeMAP course is the right one for you, before paying for the whole thing. Finally, studying the course on the internet will take the cost of travelling out of the equation, so it is guaranteed to be cheaper overall.
Loan funding
It may be possible to get a loan to cover the cost of the CeMAP course. There are various places that may offer loan funding for someone keen to study for this sort of qualification. The first option would be to look into whether there are government loans available for adults who wish to retrain for a new profession. If not, you could consider applying for a loan from a bank or a private finance company.
The chances of success will be down to whether you are considered to be a good risk to repay the loan. That point highlights the main drawback – any money borrowed will have to be repaid. You will also be liable for interest payments, so you could end up paying back a lot more. If you qualify and begin work as an advisor, it will have to be paid out of your salary.
Employer sponsorship
Lastly, there is the option of employer sponsorship. This is where an employer pays for a training course on the understanding that it will benefit them. The difficulty is that your employer will need to be convinced that it will be beneficial for you to get the CeMAP qualification. Unless you are already working within the mortgage industry, most employers may struggle to see the benefits to them.
There are several ways in which a CeMAP course can be funded, but a grant or bursary stands out as the simplest solution in most cases.