Co-founder and broker of record
intelliMortgage
A former equities trader, Melanie McLister began her mortgage career 12 years ago. Early on, she recognized a growing demand among tech-savvy borrowers for an online mortgage transaction. That prompted her to launch MyVirtualMortgageBroker.com and, in 2011, to co-develop intelliMortgage, Canada’s first DIY mortgage brokerage.
“Underlying the business model for intelliMortgage was my desire to deliver a product in full transparency that referred clients to the product best suited for them, even if it came from a non-broker-channel lender,” McLister says. That approach helped build the business from one employee in 2007 to a dozen in 2019, culminating in a 35% year-to-date growth rate in 2019.
Earlier this year, McLister led the sale of her brokerage and rate comparison website, RateSpy.com, to Kanetix; she remains broker of record with the mandate of doubling business output in 2020. “My proudest accomplishment is that my efforts have directly advanced the self-directed mortgage model,” she says.
