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How to Become a Mortgage Advisor

If you love working with people in a customer-facing role, have a passion for property or personal finance, and are looking for a role where no two days are exactly the same, then you could have all the qualities needed to become a mortgage advisor. Mortgage advisors are specialists who work with their clients to advise them on the best mortgage for them, taking into account their unique financial and personal situations.

Some mortgage advisors will work for a bank or individual mortgage provider, meaning they will only provide advice on a single provider’s products, whilst other mortgage advisors work independently, meaning they are able to provide advice on products from the whole market or products.

Wondering whether you have what it takes to pursue this role? From what mortgage advisor salary to expect to how to find mortgage advisor jobs, here’s everything you need to know about how to become a mortgage advisor:

What is a Mortgage Advisor

The key element of being a mortgage advisor is your ability to give advice: you’ll need to remain impartial when meeting with your clients, as you provide them with the pros and cons of each mortgage option that is available to them. It is a delicate role that requires both warmth and discretion: sharing their personal banking history can be daunting for some clients, so ensuring they feel relaxed and at ease with the process will be essential.

Whilst mortgage advisors are specialist advisors that search the mortgage for the best deals for their clients, there are some caveats to this. There are three different types of mortgage advisor, and once you are qualified you could work in such a way that you offer any one of the following services:

  • You could be tied to a single lender. This usually applies if you work within a bank or building society and can only offer products from that bank or building society.
  • You could only look at deals from a limited list of lenders. This might apply if you work with a mortgage brokerage which has a list of preferred suppliers.
  • You could be a whole market advisor. Often advisors who are able to offer whole market advice are independent, meaning that you work for yourself on a self-employed basis. Working independently is becoming an increasingly popular choice. There are 5,580 Mortgage Brokers businesses in the UK as of 2022, an increase of 2.6% from 2021.

There is currently a shortage of mortgage advisors in the UK thanks to the rising demand in mortgage applications. Many lenders are currently experiencing severe delays in the mortgage application process because they are understaffed in this area, meaning that if you’re looking to work in a sector where you will have high levels of job security then choosing the mortgage sector is a sensible choice right now.

As a full-time mortgage advisor, you will generally work between 35 and 40 hours a week. Some evening and weekend work will be required, with many mortgage advisors working around the needs of their clients (who often prefer evening and weekend appointments when they aren’t in the office themselves). Shift work and part-time work is also possible within this role if you are looking for a position that you can do around the demands of family life.

Personal Qualities of a Mortgage Advisor

As a mortgage advisor, you will need to utilise a wide range of skills to ensure that you meet the needs of both your clients and your employers. Here are some of the personal qualities you will need to become a successful mortgage advisor:

  • Good customer service skills. This role is predominantly a customer-facing one, and if you cannot command your client’s trust and ensure that they feel at ease, then they are unlikely to use your services to help them secure such a significant investment.
  • Persuasive negotiation skills. As a mortgage advisor, negotiating rates and ensuring that you get the best possible deal for your clients will be a key part of your role.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills, to ensure that you communicate every detail of the application clearly to your clients, in a way that they will find easy to digest.
  • Excellent numeracy skills and an interest in both maths and personal finance. You will need a good knowledge of maths in order to quickly calculate what level of mortgage your clients might qualify for.
  • Honest and trustworthy. You are acting in a position of authority, and it is important that you provide your clients with the best possible advice to help them with their decision-making process.
  • The ability to work well under pressure and accept criticism from others. It is often said that moving house is one of the most stressful things you can do, so you will often be working with individuals who are feeling stressed and under considerable pressure.
  • You should be a detail-oriented individual who is thorough in their work approach and enjoys paying attention to the smallest details in order to secure your clients the best deals.
  • Self-motivated, ambitious, and determined to succeed. This will be important because mortgage advisors often work on a commission basis, or self-employed basis, so your income will be linked to how successful you are within your role.
  • You will have good reasoning and analytical thinking skills.
  • A proficient level of computer literacy. You will need to be able to use both a computer and a handheld device and should be able to use all the main software packages within these with competence.
  • You will also need to have a credit check and pass background checks before you can work as a mortgage advisor.

What a Mortgage Advisor Does

As a mortgage advisor, your responsibilities and daily duties will include:

  • Meeting with your clients to understand their mortgage needs. This meeting could take place in person or over the phone. You may work out of an office, a bank, or visit your clients in their homes.
  • Before you begin to advise your clients, your role will involve explaining what type of mortgage advisor you are and how you will be paid. You should clearly outline which products you can offer advice on and which you cannot: this will be particularly important if you work for an individual mortgage provider.
  • Take a detailed report of your client’s current financial situation and their mortgage expectations. This will include their salaries, monthly expenditure, and the value of the property they are hoping to purchase, as well as the amount they would like to borrow.
  • Create a clear picture of the different types of mortgage and products available for them to choose from and offer advice on which is most suitable for their needs, based on their unique financial situation and your expert opinion.
  • Use an affordability calculator to ensure that your clients can afford the amount they are borrowing. Ensure that they are aware that interest rates may go up in the future: help your clients to be clear that they should only choose a mortgage they can afford if rates increase, or if their circumstances change, in the future.
  • Clearly outline what monthly repayment rates your clients would be expected to pay. Talk to your clients about other complimentary products you can offer such as mortgage protection, buildings insurance, and life insurance. Ensure they are aware of the risks of not choosing these products. Also ensure that, if they don’t choose to purchase these products with you, they have them in place if necessary: some mortgage providers will make securing building and life insurance a condition of their mortgage offer.
  • Complete and submit mortgage applications on your client’s behalf.
  • Ensure that you arrange enough appointments each week to ensure that you meet your sales targets.
  • Work both independently and as part of a larger, multidisciplinary team. Your role will involve liaising with mortgage lenders, estate agents, and valuers.
  • Ensure that you respect your client’s right to confidentiality, keeping their financial information filed and stored in such a way that it cannot be accessed by anyone who shouldn’t be able to access it.
  • Ensure that the advice you give is fair, impartial, and appropriate. As a mortgage advisor, you should follow the strict industry guidelines which determine what you can and cannot say.
  • You will also need to understand the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulatory requirements and ensure you meet these with each client that you meet.
  • A significant amount of your work will be paperwork based, so when you are not meeting with clients you should be ensuring that your paperwork is kept up to date and complies with all of the relevant industry standards.
What a Mortgage Advisor does

How Much Does a Mortgage Advisor Earn?

The amount you can earn as a mortgage advisor will be determined by where in the country you work, as well as the company that you work for. Mortgage Advisors working in London tend to earn slightly more than those working elsewhere, for example, whilst dedicated mortgage brokerages tend to pay higher base rates than high street banks. Most mortgage advisors also earn a commission for each mortgage they sell on top of the basic rates outlined below.

As a newly qualified mortgage advisor, you can expect your basic starting salary to be between £22,000 and £25,000 per annum. This figure does not include any commissions that you may be paid on top of this, but the commission amounts earned by trainees or newly qualified mortgage advisors tend to be minimal. Once you have gained some experience in the field, this will be reflected in your salary. Mortgage advisors who have at least two years of experience within the sector can earn anywhere between £45,000 and £60,000. This figure includes commissions earnt. At the very top level of this industry, the most experienced mortgage advisors can earn up to £70,000, including commission.

Qualifications Needed for a Mortgage Advisor

If you’ve decided that a career as a mortgage advisor is the right path for you then there are many ways that you can secure this role. Most people will take a college course to ensure that they have the skills and knowledge they’ll need to secure a trainee mortgage advisor role. Any finance-related course would be beneficial to demonstrate your desire to work in the sector, and customer service courses or courses that would enhance your people-focused skills may also be considered desirable. Some examples of relevant college courses include:

To study a Level 3 college course, you’ll need to secure 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent. If you want to take a finance or business-related course, you may need to demonstrate that one of those GCSEs is in maths or a maths-based subject.

Other common routes to working as a mortgage advisor are via apprenticeship or by working within a bank or building society at a more junior level. You will need to secure an advanced apprenticeship to train to become a mortgage adviser. This apprenticeship would usually take around 12 months to complete and would require a mix of learning on the job and study in a college-based environment. In order to secure an advanced apprenticeship, you will need to find a suitable vacancy, and then demonstrate that you have 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths.

Finally, you could secure employment within a bank, and then move into mortgage advice as you gain experience within the sector. Those working as a customer service adviser role in a bank or building society, or as a mortgage administrator in a firm of brokers, are best placed to grow into the role in this way.

No matter which route you choose, it’s important to remember that you can’t work as a mortgage advisor until you’ve taken a qualification in mortgage advice that is recognised by the Financial Conduct Authority. The best course to choose is the Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice (CeMAP) course, which is a Level 3 course that has been approved by the FCA and is sought by employers as the industry standard. If you are already in employment within a bank or mortgage brokerage, then your employer will usually pay for you to complete this qualification.

On-the-Job Training

On-the-job training is an integral part of working as a mortgage advisor. Industry standards, financial regulations, and laws surrounding mortgages and homeownership change all the time. Keeping abreast of these changes is a key part of your role, which is why on-the-job training and continued professional development is so essential to this position.

Being a mortgage advisor involves elements of sales and marketing work, so many mortgage advisors will also undertake sales and marketing training in order to enhance their skills in these specialisms, ultimately leading to greater interest from clients and better sales figures, which of course means better commissions.

Professional Bodies

You cannot work as a mortgage advisor in the UK unless you are registered as an ‘approved person’ by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In order to receive this ‘approved person’ status, you must know and meet the regulatory requirements of the FCA, and understand how these requirements are applied. You must also undergo a ‘fit and proper’ test and be registered to work with an authorised firm.

Whilst being registered with the FCA is essential, and you cannot work as a mortgage advisor without joining this professional body, there are other professional bodies to which membership is optional, but they could be beneficial to your career development, no matter what stage of your career you are at.  The London Institute of Banking and Finance, the Chartered Insurance Institute and the Chartered Banker Institute, are all bodies that accept membership from mortgage advisors and offer great opportunities for professional development and networking with your peers. You’ll also have access to white papers and research within the sector, as well as a members-only area where you can discuss the industry with others working within it.

Professional Bodies FCA
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