"Becoming a mortgage advisor is one of the best things I have done"
A career in financial services is something Paul Neal (pictured) had never even considered when he was young. As a teen, he devoted most of his time training as a short track speed skater for Great Britain. He was crowned 1999 national champion and was included in the world’s top 50.
Neal was in the sport for 10 years, so his career’s natural progression was into something physical. This was when he found himself joining the Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service as a fire fighter, where he spent the next seven years helping save lives.
However, the opportunity to become a self-employed protection advisor came in 2017 when he had a conversation with a friend. It was something that had never appeared on his radar, but he took the challenge of trying something new. He joined a firm based some 350 miles from where he lived.
“Going from an incredibly active to more sedate role was a challenge, not only that the feeling of having to go back to school to study my CeMAP and CeRER was a real adjustment, but the pull of being my own boss and a new challenge was a great one,” Neal recalled.
“The whole process was a very challenging one, as it was not only learning to become a mortgage advisor, but I was also a self-employed one, so this was my sole income too. I had to give advice to be able to put food on the table, which was a stressful process to say the least.”
Neal admitted that being a protection-only advisor is hard, and it was a chance meeting at a networking event in 2019 where he met Nigel Jones that the idea of joining Missing Element Mortgage Services, the place he now calls home, was presented to him. He said the opportunity to become a mortgage advisor and be down the road from home was too much of an opportunity to miss.
Learn How to become a mortgage advisor with no experience
“Becoming a mortgage advisor is one of the best things I have done,” Neal expressed. “I love my job, it brings me satisfaction on a daily basis, and I love to deal with people. I also have the opportunity to show my creative side with all the social media and web design that is done in-house by me.
“I was fortunate to have a great mentor in Nigel, who has over 30 years of experience and is the fountain of all my mortgage knowledge. Without his guidance, getting to where I am now would have been a much longer and harder process.”
Now, four years on, Missing Element, with the help of Neal, has grown as a company with a sizeable social media following. Its team of two has also expanded to a team of four, soon to be five.
Neal, now a SOLLA equity release advisor, said he was looking forward to the future with the addition of Missing Element Equity Release.
“We are planning of making some big waves in the later life lending market in the next 12 months, with plans on being one of the best referral agents for other brokers. Exciting times ahead,” he stated.
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