The route to becoming a successful broker is neither easy or straightforward. There are milestones to overcome and junctions to face as you decide on your career path.
Milestones
You will not get past base without certain qualities – enthusiasm, positivity, good communication skills, empathy with clients and, above all, determination.
The next stumbling block is finding the right company to take you on; the most important step in your career progression but a challenge for anyone entering the industry. You will need a supervisor in the company to evidence your competency – they will need to accompany you to client meetings as well as checking your paperwork, so that you can be signed off as competent at data gathering, sourcing and producing client recommendations and making presentations to clients. Unfortunately, most mortgage firms don’t have the time or resources to devote to new people in this way, so if you can find a small brokerage close to home with an experienced supervisor to help you in your career development – you are a very lucky person.
There can be no circumventing gaining a broad knowledge of all the areas related to mortgages. So you will need to have an understanding of pensions, tax – particularly inheritance tax – and the legal processes on home ownership.
In addition, you cannot bypass gaining qualifications, CeMap one, two and three at the very least. It’s important you become familiar with the different requirements for protection. These include: life, critical illness, general insurance, and pension term assurance. However, passing CeMap should give you good theoretical knowledge.
Membership of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries is an essential step on the path to success. Organisations like these will provide assistance with development and training and liaise with the regulator, the Ombudsman or even the government on the industry’s behalf.
To be heading in the right direction you will already be treating customers fairly – even before the introduction the regulator’s initiative – and you should be operating a one-stop shop for your clients’ mortgage and related needs. You should be able to help with loans, debt counselling, protection and long-term financial planning, if not by giving direct advice, then by pointing the client towards the right person to help them. It is also essential to advise clients on the way they plan to hold the property so that they see it as an ongoing relationship, not just ending with a mortgage agreement.
Junctions
One junction you are bound to face sooner or later is the decision as to whether to ‘go it alone’. You can work for someone else at a cost, but at least you will be free from the responsibilities of running your own business. Or you may prefer to be totally independent and act as a sole trader, partnership or limited company. Obviously the success or lack of it in your business will be down to you. If you choose to be a sole trader, you won’t have staff problems and may well be able to work from home, so you needn’t even have problems with office accommodation.
However, if you want to build up your business as a partnership or limited company, you will need a team, and for this you will need managerial skills and the time and resources to evidence a new broker’s competency.
If you do want to become your own boss, you will have to decide whether to be part of a network or directly authorised (DA). If you join a network the chances are they will have compliance support, but this inevitably comes at a cost. In contrast, a DA broker will take responsibility for all activities, reporting directly to the FSA.
Having made this journey, there is one more turning to negotiate – what niche you are going to fill? The industry is diverse, but by this stage, with everything else in place, you may well have entered your niche without realising it. But don’t be fooled into thinking the journey is over. With changing markets, fluctuating house prices, changes in legislation – you’ve only just begun.
