CeMAP 3 Mock Paper 6 — ASEW/ASSC Synoptic AssessmentStandard
Standard CeMAP 3 mock on gig-economy income, cladding and EWS1, porting with extra borrowing, interest-only maturity, euro income and second homes. Two hours.
Ready when you are
The timer starts when you press the button. You can still finish after it runs out — it is there to mimic exam pressure, not to lock you out.
Free preview: the first 5 of 60 questions, with a timer to match. Unlock the full paper
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About CeMAP 3 Mock Paper 6
This is mock paper 6 of 8 for ASEW/ASSC, the CeMAP 3 — Assessment of Mortgage Advice Knowledge (ASEW/ASSC) unit of CeMAP. The 8 papers in this unit run easier → harder so you can build up to exam standard rather than being thrown in at the deep end. This one sits in the standard tier: it is pitched at roughly live-exam difficulty, with distractors that are all plausible until you read them properly.
Every question carries a written explanation, so a wrong answer tells you which rule you have misread instead of just costing you a mark. Questions are original, written against the 2025/26 five-unit CeMAP syllabus, and cover the material the way the examiner tests it — precise recall where recall is tested, and judgement where the paper wants judgement.
Format, timing and pass mark
CeMAP 3 Mock Paper 6 follows the live ASEW/ASSC format: 6 case studies × 10 linked questions, in 120 minutes — about 120 seconds a question. Pass mark 42/60 (70%), as in the real assessment. There is no negative marking, so answer everything. 6 case studies carry linked questions: read each scenario once, carefully, before answering any part of it.
What this paper tests
The 60 questions in CeMAP 3 Mock Paper 6 break down across 42 topic areas:
- Porting5 questions
- Stamp duty4 questions
- Foreign currency loans3 questions
- Affordability calculation2 questions
- Building safety & EWS12 questions
- Consumer Duty2 questions
- Early repayment charges2 questions
- Later life lending2 questions
- Leaseholder protections2 questions
- Placing the case2 questions
- Protection2 questions
- Variable & gig income2 questions
- Advice1 question
- Affordability1 question
…plus 28 further topic areas spread across the case studies.
Try two questions from CeMAP 3 Mock Paper 6
These come from the free preview of this paper. Answer them, then reveal the explanation.
Case study 1 — Zero hours and the gig economy
Liam Prentice (29) has worked on a zero-hours contract for a hotel group for three years, earning an average of £1,650 a month gross but ranging from £900 in a quiet January to £1,900 at the height of summer. Alongside it he does self-employed food delivery work, with tax returns showing net profits of £8,400 and £9,600 in the last two tax years. He has saved £24,750 — a 15% deposit on the £165,000 terraced house he wants to buy in Derby. He has never missed a payment on anything, but two lenders' online calculators have already told him he cannot borrow enough.
Variable & gig income
How are lenders that accept zero-hours income most likely to treat Liam's three-year record with the hotel group?
- AOnly the single lowest month in the past year may be counted, since underwriters are required to assume the worst realistic outcome for any non-guaranteed earnings
- BUse the highest monthly figure achieved in the last year, on the basis that two years' service converts variable pay into regular pay
- CAverage the income over the last 12 months, evidenced by payslips and bank statements, provided the pattern is established and continuing
- DZero-hours earnings are excluded from affordability altogether, because the employer guarantees no minimum number of hours and the income is therefore not contractual
Reveal the answer
C is correct. Mainstream criteria commonly accept zero-hours income after 12 months (often 6 or 12) in the role, averaged across a full year and cross-checked against bank credits. There is no rule excluding it, no requirement to take the worst month, and no lender takes the best month at face value.
Case study 1 — Zero hours and the gig economy
Liam Prentice (29) has worked on a zero-hours contract for a hotel group for three years, earning an average of £1,650 a month gross but ranging from £900 in a quiet January to £1,900 at the height of summer. Alongside it he does self-employed food delivery work, with tax returns showing net profits of £8,400 and £9,600 in the last two tax years. He has saved £24,750 — a 15% deposit on the £165,000 terraced house he wants to buy in Derby. He has never missed a payment on anything, but two lenders' online calculators have already told him he cannot borrow enough.
Variable & gig income
The main reason lenders average shift income over a full 12 months rather than the most recent three is that:
- AIt lets the lender disregard the self-employed element entirely, reducing the assessment to a single employed figure that is simpler to underwrite
- BHMRC requires a full tax year of earnings to have been averaged before payslip income can be declared on any mortgage application
- CIt captures the seasonal peaks and troughs in shift availability, giving a sustainable figure rather than one flattered by a busy quarter
- DTwelve months is the minimum averaging period specified in MCOB for every type of variable income, and a shorter period would breach the affordability rules
Reveal the answer
C is correct. Liam's income swings from £900 to £1,900 a month, so a three-month window taken in August would materially overstate what he earns across a year. MCOB requires the lender to take account of income it can reasonably expect to continue, but it prescribes no fixed averaging period, and HMRC has no role in the calculation.
Scored under 70%? Revise these next
A near miss is almost always a calculation you cannot do under time pressure, a definition you half-know, or a rule you have never read in the examiner's words. Start with the topic areas above where you dropped marks, then:
- →Drill the calculations on the CeMAP formula sheet — LTV, income multiples, SDLT, APRC, ERCs and rental cover, each worked through.
- →Nail the terminology in the CeMAP glossary — a surprising share of wrong answers are a term you nearly knew.
- →Re-read the syllabus coverage on the ASEW/ASSC exam guide, then sit the next paper in the ramp.
The other ASEW/ASSC mock papers
8 timed mocks for this unit, running easier → harder. Sitting the whole ramp is what moves a borderline score to a comfortable pass.