Self employed mortgage broker

[Timbo40]

Hi, hope I’m in the right place!

I’m at a bit of a cross roads in my career, with a bit of money (only 3-4 grand) that I’m wanting to use to start my own business.

I’m fully cemap qualified and was a mortgage advisor until 2009, was the a mortgage supervisor until 2012, this was for a large lender rather than a broker.

I then made a poor career choice and moved into estate agency and am currently a lister (property valuer). My earnings dropped dramatically and I ended up getting into financial difficulty and therefore have 4-5 defaults with a debt management plan in place to clear them. I don’t enjoy the job, mainly down to how pressurised the industry is to get a property on the market at any cost!

So, that’s my background. I’d love to get back into mortgages and so what I’m here to ask is:

1 - does that bad debt put an end to any aspirations of getting back into mortgages? I assume it probably will, however...

2 - if not, what would be the best route if I was looking to start up on my own or join forces with an established independent broker?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Gordon - Commercial Finance]

Any reason why you're not using the 3-4 grand to pay off your outstanding debts?

Starting up on your own would be a very hard slog, and your chances of getting the FCA satisfied enough that you can trade are slim I would say. Best idea would be to either get another job back doing what you were doing before (just for a while) or see if you can partner with another independent.

 

[Timbo40]

Thanks for the response!

I could well use the money to pay off part of the debt, but if it be useful to help me get back doing something I always enjoyed I’d rather do that (ie, if I needed some capital to buy into an existing business/franchise). I’d be open to whatever works best really.

So does bad debt not exclude you from being a mortgage advisor?