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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 87 risk, with over $609 billion in potential total destruction damage, a more than $16 billion increase over 2017. Of the 19 states analyzed, Florida has the most potential for storm-surge damage, CoreLogic reports, with more than 2.7 million homes at risk. Louisiana comes in second with more than 817,000 homes at risk, followed by Texas with 543,000, and then New Jersey with 471,000. Florida also has the highest potential RCV, with CoreLogic estimating a potential $552 billion in recovery costs from storm-surge damage. New York ranks second with more than $190 billion RCV, followed by Louisiana with more than $186 billion RCV, New Jersey with more than $146 billion RCV, and Texas with more than $103 billion RCV. GEORGIA Equifax Introduces New Indicator to Reduce Friction in Lending To reduce friction in lending, credit scores provider and Atlanta-based global solutions company Equifax has introduced e Work Number Indicator, an instant alert of whether an employment and income record exists on e Work Number database. e database is the nation's largest centralized repository of payroll data and is managed by Equifax. According to Equifax, the alert has been introduced to support initiatives that make the mortgage industry more consumer oriented and to help lenders and borrowers gain opera- tional efficiencies through quicker, paperless processes similar to the digital experiences already being offered by many retailers. e Work Number Indicator, delivered along with the credit report, proactively signals to lenders whether a borrower's income and employment information is already available within Equifax's U.S. database, which can help eliminate a tedious documentation pro- cess for borrowers and significantly expedite the mortgage-origination process for lenders. "As the industry continues to move toward a more streamlined, technology-enabled origi- nation process, ready access to verifications data like income and employment are key to ensuring that the process isn't hindered," said Craig Crabtree, SVP and General Manager of Equifax Mortgage and Housing Services. "When lenders use e Work Number Indica- tor, they are able to more efficiently manage their workflows, ultimately resulting in an improved experience for borrowers and lend- ers' staff alike." Giving an example of AmeriSave Mort- gage Corporation, Equifax said that the mortgage lender realized a 15 percent im- provement in mortgage-origination efficiency through the use of e Work Number report for verification of employment and income. "For AmeriSave's borrowers, this accelerated the path to closing by an average of five days, valuable time that helps enable borrowers to move into homes quicker," Equifax said in a statement. Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region. It is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 Index, and its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX. Equifax employs approximately 10,400 employees worldwide. OKLAHOMA Nonowner-Occupied Homes: Where Are They Most Common? Whether they're hoping to get ahold of an older abode or a freshly built one, today's dearth of for-sale stock isn't doing would-be buyers any favors. Every ounce of avail- able inventory makes a difference, including nonowner-occupied properties (i.e., vacation, investment, and second homes). To assess their impact on inventory, LendingTree recently identified the U.S. cities with the highest share of mortgages originated for nonowner-occupied homes. "Many such properties are often bought for cash, however, which means our mortgage-focused study likely understates the effect on the market," the company noted. When dissecting the data, LendingTree detected a definite regional trend, with cities claiming the most nonowner-occupied proper- ties located mostly in the South and West. "Southern cities may be attracting investors due to low prices and growing populations," LendingTree explained. "Many residents in Southern cities may not be able to access homeownership due to lower median salaries, creating a ready pool of renters." Rapid price appreciation is likely lur- ing investors in the West, the study notes. Louisiana ranked second on CoreLogic's 2018 assessment of states most in danger of of flooding related to storm surge, with more than 817k homes at risk. KNOW THIS

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