What are the responsibilities of a mortgage advisor?

July 23, 2021 by Mark

Mortgage Advisors

After you have completed your CeMAP training and started practising as a broker, you’ll have the opportunity to command an excellent wage. Basic annual salaries alone can range between £22,000 and £25,000, even before commission, while advisors with high levels of experience can earn up to £70,000 a year.

While earning a salary of such magnitude makes getting qualified with a CeMAP course worthwhile, once practising as a broker, new advisors will have certain responsibilities they must fulfil in their role. In the following sections, we’ll explore some of these obligations to prepare CeMAP candidates for what’s in store when they’re up and running.

Responsibilities to your clients

As an advisor, you’ll need to communicate with your customers. This may involve face-to-face meetings, telephone conversations and written exchanges via email. You’ll be obliged to inform them of the kind of mortgage broker you are and explain how you need to be paid.

You’ll need to be a good listener, as part of your role will involve discovering your client’s personal financial situation, and this includes what their current monthly expenses are. This is essential in order for you to work out what type of mortgage products available on the market may be suited to their individual circumstances.

With this knowledge, you can then explain the diverse range of products available to your client, so that they understand their advantages.

Legal obligations

You will have an ethical and legal responsibility to ensure that your clients can always afford the loans they are taking out, not only in their present financial circumstances, but in the future as well. This must account for a change in their personal situation and if interest rates increase.

It is crucial that you always provide financial advice that is correct, appropriate and unbiased. As part of your CeMAP studies, you’ll learn the regulations established by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that apply to those practising mortgage advice. You must follow these rigid rules that govern the sector you’re working in and comply with the FCA’s regulatory requirements.

In the event that the financial ombudsman opens an investigation or enquiry, you must provide complete cooperation. You also have a legal obligation to respect your client’s personal right to confidentiality.

Additional responsibilities in your role

If you work for a firm delivering mortgage advice, you may be required to meet set sales targets. Part of your role may also mean you must offer advice and sell financial products related to mortgages, such as building and life insurance. Finally, to serve your clients and employer proficiently, you must stay up to date with any changes to regulations and the latest mortgage products available.

Specialists in CeMAP training courses

At Beacon Financial Training, we provide fully supported courses and classes to prepare students for their new career path as a qualified advisor with the letters “CeMAP” appended to their names. Whether you like to learn in a class as part of a group or remotely with an online course you can complete at home, contact us today for further information.