Mortgage Advisor
Controller Job Description
A mortgage advisor guides home buyers on the best mortgage deal available to them. This helps buyers decide how much money they can borrow relative to their salary and other circumstances. You may be advising individuals, for example, first-time home buyers, or you may be advising businesses. Mortgage advisors typically work for a bank in order to help customers find the mortgage that works best for them. They meet with customers and educate them on the differences between mortgage products. Mortgage advisors work together with the customers to help them determine what they need most from a mortgage and suggest the ones most suited to their needs.
You also act as a liaison between a bank or financial institution and the customer. In this career, you gather financial information from the borrower, check it for accuracy, and send it to the mortgage lenders to find out which can provide the best financing.
You do need solid number skills to ensure you’re getting the customer the best deal. You need to be able to confidently calculate a borrower’s financial situation, what repayments they can afford and what the loan interest equates to. You’ll need to communicate with your clients in a number of ways: over the phone, via email as well as in person. Strong skills across various communication methods put you in a great position to consider a career as a mortgage advisor. You may need to apply your time management skills not only to ensuring everyone is on schedule, but for splitting your time appropriately. A sales and marketing background gives you a strong advantage. You’ll already be a good communicator, you’ll understand marketing strategies and tactics that help you reach your target audience and you’ll know how close the deal.
To become a qualified mortgage advisor, you need to complete a CeMAP Mortgage Advisor course. This is a Level 3 course, which means it’s equivalent to an A-level. As such, you don’t need a degree to become a mortgage advisor, but the transferable skills from degrees in finance or business could prove useful.
The course is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority. It teaches skills such as understanding mortgage policies and applying them to customers’ needs.
Typical duties of a Controller
• advise clients about homebuying
• find out about your client’s finances
• explain the different types of mortgage
• explain about repayments and mortgage protection
• offer different mortgage options for the client to choose from
• sell other financial products like buildings or life insurance
• help the customer complete the mortgage application
• meet sales targets
• deal with estate agents, valuers and mortgage lenders
• keep up-to-date with new mortgage products and any changes in the law
Skills:
• customer service skills
• maths knowledge
• the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• ambition and a desire to succeed
• the ability to use your initiative
• analytical thinking skills
• excellent verbal communication skills
• to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
Qualifications: CeMAP Mortgage Advisor course