BTS Director Luiza Todd, shares some helpful guidance about CF6…
Many individuals start off their professional lives in the financial services industry by initially becoming mortgage advisers. Indeed, some love the world of mortgages so much they choose this as their specialty (not sure I could stomach all the chasing of the various parties involved in buying a property – bound to give me permanent high blood pressure 🤣).
If you choose to use the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) as your examining body, you will need to achieve their Certificate in Mortgage Advice. This consists of passing two units:
Once both units have been successfully nailed, and as long as the individual is a member of the Society of Mortgage Professionals (SMP) then they can use the designation Cert CII (MP). And give clients mortgage advice (with the right FCA permissions in place…)
| Question Types | Details |
|---|---|
| Multi-choice | - 100 of these questions appear in the CF6 exam. |
| Case Study Based |
- 25 of these appear in the CF6 exam. - You will have to analyse five short case studies. - Each case study will have five questions based on it |
The CF6 syllabus is very broad, and candidates must know details around not just English property law but all the Scottish quirks as well. Last time I sat this exam at the end of 2022 I had at least five questions based on Scottish property law.
As well as the usual CII tax tables candidates are also provided with lender criteria information (an extract is given here). This gives them a variety of additional information in relation to, for example, different types of mortgage interest rate deals, higher lending charge %s that can be levied, the types of income that can be taken into account when calculating maximum lender £s.
All this information is based on CF6 Planet La La and is usually needed as a reference point when tackling the 25-case study-based questions in the exam, which come at the end of the paper.
You are going to use this lender criteria sheet a lot with the exam case studies. I found it a bit of an issue as the system does not allow for having both the case study and lender criteria sheet open at the same time on the screen. As a result of this lack of functionality I found myself toggling between the two a lot.
The syllabus is very broad so there is a lot you have to learn, understand and be able to apply. There is a lot to mortgage advice so that’s to be expected.
It’s deffo not easy, but with the right materials, and enough revision it is well passable.
These can be quite tricky. I had at least three of my case studies where the text told me my mortgage clients were considering two options. OPTION ONE could have been a fixed rate for five years, whereas OPTION TWO was a capped rate for three year.
The questions then tested me on the difference between the two choices from the borrower’s perspective, such as how much would the difference in interest paid be in year one of the mortgage if the clients went for OPTION TWO rather than OPTION ONE?
I had a lot of calculations in the questions based on the five exam case studies. Many more than I was expecting…
The answer is loads 👍.
BTS support includes:
These concentrate on the exam’s heaviest weighted learning outcomes. They are run via Zoom, with the next workshop scheduled for 24th / 27th November (so a Friday and the following Monday).
So, if you are planning to sit this unit come and join us on the workshop. Once you have attended one of our events, you will be hooked, as they are so good…
View Our CF6 Exam overview/toolkit to purchase any CF6 Study support including Study Guides, e-Learning modules, online workshops and study buddy.
Chat with other CF6 candidates in the dedicated BTS CF6 online forum room to help keep up to date , find out any new information and gain help and advise from others.
For more information on the different paths to becoming a Self-employed Mortgage Adviser, including qualifications, exams and salary information, check out the Mortgage Adviser Role Profile.
Read another insightful article ‘A Day In The Life Of A Self-Employed Mortgage & Protection Adviser’ to find out more information about the role.
