Shelter Lending Mortgage Lender Profile
Generally for Borrowers in BC, Alberta or Manitoba with unverified income, bruised credit or CRA arrears who need residential financing outside the banks.
Who they are
Shelter Lending Corporation is a private and alternative mortgage lender based in Kelowna, British Columbia. It was established in 2020 as a sister company to Northern Alliance Financial Corporation, which was founded in 2015. It is led by chairman and chief executive Dave McKitrick, previously of Alta West Capital, alongside a team the company says has more than 80 combined years in private lending. Shelter lends in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba. It works through mortgage brokers, who put the file together and submit it. Investor capital is raised through an affiliated entity, Northern Alliance Trust.
What they lend on, and who for
Shelter funds first, second and blanket mortgages on residential property, including condominiums, townhomes, single-family homes, recreational properties, rentals and small multifamily buildings of up to six units. It does not lend on commercial buildings, construction, land development, raw land or commercial farms. The files it typically sees involve unverified income, bruised credit, borrowed equity, CRA arrears, atypical zoning or concerns about location. It advertises no minimum credit score, with open and closed term options and renewals. Your broker submits a full explanation of your situation and how you plan to exit the loan, and stays your point of contact throughout.
How to approach Shelter Lending
You can contact Shelter Lending yourself; nothing stops you. What you cannot easily find out is what they will actually accept. What loan-to-value they will genuinely go to on your property, what exit they want to see, what the lender fee comes to, and how fast they can fund — none of that is published in full anywhere, and it moves.
A licensed broker who places files with lenders like this every week knows those criteria, and more usefully knows how to structure a file so it lands inside them rather than just outside. On anything that is not a straightforward salaried purchase, that structuring is most of the difference between an approval and a decline. It costs you nothing on a prime mortgage — the lender pays the broker when it funds.
| Lender type | Private |
| Registered as | Shelter Lending Corporation |
| Head office | 101A, 1735 Dolphin Avenue, Kelowna, BC V1Y 8A6 |
| Website | shelterlending.ca |
| Phone | 1-866-777-9567 |
Get notified 90 days before your renewal
Your lender contacts you at 30 days, when you have no time to shop. We reach you at 90 — early enough to lock a hold and personalize your offers.
Borrower ratings for Shelter Lending
In today’s world, reviews dictate the service industry. Brokers have taken the hit for bad lenders. We bring the consumer experience to light to help borrowers decide.
How quickly did they issue a commitment and get to funding?
Was the rate you got competitive for the product you qualified for?
Could you reach someone, and did they resolve things?
Portal, e-signing, document upload, online account — did it work?
Were the terms, fees and penalties clear before you signed?
Worked with Shelter Lending?
Score them on the five things above. We confirm every review by email before it publishes, and we publish the bad ones too.
Questions about Shelter Lending
Is Shelter Lending a real mortgage lender?
Yes. Shelter Lending is a private based in British Columbia. Its own site is shelterlending.ca.
What kind of lender is Shelter Lending?
Private — categorised in our directory as Private Lender. Equity lenders — the property matters more than the borrower. Short terms, higher rates, lender fees, and speed. Right for a genuinely temporary problem, wrong as a destination.
Should I go to Shelter Lending directly or through a broker?
You can approach them yourself. The reason most people do not is that a lender's real criteria — how income is read, what is accepted as documentation, what will be allowed as an exception — are not published, and they change. A broker who works with Shelter Lending regularly knows them and knows how to present a file to fit them, which on anything other than a simple salaried purchase is usually what decides the answer. On a prime mortgage it costs you nothing either way, because the lender pays the broker when it funds.
Would Shelter Lending approve me?
No profile page can answer that, and any site that tries is guessing. It turns on how your income is earned and how much of it a lender will count, your credit history, the property itself, and how much you need against what it is worth. Those are the questions a licensed broker asks before naming a lender — and they will tell you which ones realistically fit, this one included, and which would price it better.
Where does Shelter Lending lend?
Its head office is in British Columbia. Lending areas change and are not always the same as where the lender is based — confirm current coverage with the lender or a broker before planning around it.
Would Shelter Lending take your file?
Send us the details and a licensed broker will tell you which lenders fit — this one included, and the ones that would price it better.
Send us the file