CeRER stands for Certificate in Regulated Equity Release (CeRER) and it is a relatively new qualification, hence at the time of writing there are not many CeRER training courses around.
Since the 6th April 2007, Equity Release has been regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). This includes Lifetime Mortgages and Home Reversion Plans, both of which will be explained in more detail in later articles.
As part of these new regulatory requirements, anybody who wishes to advise on Equity Release in any form must have the appropriate qualification, i.e. the CeRER qualification.
To allow a little leeway on the changes, anybody who was authorised to advise on Lifetime Mortgages before the 6th April 2007 is still able to advise on all the forms of Equity Release, including Home Reversions, up until the 5th April 2009. This is called ‘grandfathering’ and gives them some time to take the new CeRER exams and get the new, necessary qualification. If they have not acquired the CeRER qualification by then, they will no longer be allowed to advise on Equity Release.
From the 6th April 2009, they will need to have passed an examination covering Home Reversion as well as Lifetime Mortgages. If they already passed a Lifetime Mortgages exam, either in the CeLTM® or Advanced CeMAP® qualification), then all they need to do is to take and pass the second unit of the CeRER Equity Release qualification, called the ‘top-up unit’.
There are only a few CeRER training providers offering nationwide courses at the time of writing, so be sure to check their CeMAP training experience. A CeRER training course should typically last two days.