Between 2001 and 2016, 97 percent of total job growth in the Unites States happened in urban counties. And while rural America is absolutely struggling, all rural America isn’t all struggling. In the top 10% for job growth, the U.S. counties, 34% are large metros/urban, 14% medium metros, 11% small metros, 18% were rural and adjacent to a metro, but there are plenty of remote rural counties doing great: 16% of the counties in the top 10 percent for job growth are small and rural and not adjacent to a metro. Typically, it’s because the factory fairy recently visited: Storey County in Nevada got the Tesla factory, Love County, Oklahoma got a casino, Sumter County, Florida got a retirement community.

Lender Products and Services

With just 2 short weeks until our industry ascends on our nation’s capital, Mr. Cooper is looking forward to seeing our valued partners at the MBA Annual Convention & Expo! Please join us as we start the week with an amazing Networking Reception Sunday, October 14. Let’s meet so we can share the latest developments and how we have grown our Correspondent business by 80% YoY. In addition, we’re proud of our enhanced Co-issue program, which includes going live with Fannie Mae Servicing Marketplace and the ability to acquire E-Notes. Mr. Cooper has the deepest product offering in the market and provides a comprehensive variety of transaction solutions. Contact your Regional Account Executive to schedule time to learn about our growing Correspondent platform, Co-issue capabilities, robust Product Suite, 2019 strategies, and details for our reception. Mr. Cooper is a premier Correspondent/Co-Issue investor and the largest non-bank servicer with a servicing portfolio of ~ $500B.

Goldome Warehouse Lending recently hired Roxie Montoya, Warehouse Lending Account Executive. Roxie brings 15 years of warehouse lending experience to the Goldome sales team and has held various sales and support roles in the warehouse lending industry. Goldome, acquired by Independent Bank of McKinney Texas in 2017, is a nationwide warehouse lender that offers scaled funding and support for the small lender all the way up to the large aggregator. Goldome offers flexible warehouse lines up to $100 million with aggressive and competitive terms. They fund a wide variety of programs and products and are actively seeking new business partners, delegated correspondent lenders, and non-delegated correspondent lenders. If you are interested in learning more about Goldome’s warehouse lending programs, please contact their seasoned sales team: Drey Roberts - SVP National Production Manager, Steve Harris - VP Warehouse Lending Account Executive,  Jim Harrison - VP Warehouse Portfolio Manager or Roxie Montoya - Warehouse Lending Account Executive to discuss your unique needs and how Goldome can be a great fit for your organization.

How do you help your clients build equity faster and save money on mortgage interest? The All In One Loan by CMG Financial is changing lives around the country by teaching homeowners to rethink their mortgage and save more for future expenses. All In One Loan borrowers are paying off their mortgage sooner, building equity faster, and saving for retirement, college tuition, and other life expenses. Want to know more? CMG Financial’s

Wholesale Division continues its cross-country seminar series to introduce mortgage professionals and their referral partners to the All In One Loan. There are only two more opportunities to experience this hands-on training and learn how to add the All In One Loan to your product menu. Next stop is Orlando, FL on Oct 9th, Washington, DC on October 10th, and Minneapolis MN on October 11th.To see the schedule of training events and webinars visit: http://cmgfi.com/wholesale/aio or email AIO@cmgfi.com.

Disaster News

The folks at FEMA have been busy. On 10/1/2018, FEMA provided an incident period end date of August 17, 2018, for DR-4366, Hawaii Kilauea volcanic eruption and earthquakes, provided an incident period end date of September 19, 2018, for DR-4382, California Wildfires, and has amended and granted federal disaster aid with individual assistance to Chesterfield and Georgetown Counties in South Carolina and Greene County in North Carolina affected by Hurricane Florence. With Amendment No. 1 to DR-4394, FEMA granted federal disaster aid with individual assistance to 4 counties in the state of South Carolina in areas affected by Hurricane Florence during the period of 9/8/2018 and continuing.

FEMA has added new counties to its disaster declarations due to Hurricane Florence. The complete list of counties are as follows: North Carolina – Beaufort, Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Duplin, Greene, Harnett, Hoke, Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Moore, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender, Pitt, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson, Scotland, Wayne, and Wilson South Carolina – Chesterfield, Dillon, Georgetown, Horry, Marion, and Marlboro.

Moody’s Analytics estimated that Hurricane Florence caused between $38 billion and $50 billion worth of economic damage to property, vehicles and lost output. If Florence does end up closer to the $50 billion end of that spectrum, it’d be the seventh worst hurricane based on economic impact, just behind Andrew in 1992. Private insurers estimate $1.7 billion to $5 billion in total Florence-related costs, which exclude flood claims for individual homes.

Although the National Association of Realtors commended the House for including much-needed disaster relief funding designed to expedite Hurricane Florence recovery in the 5-year FAA HR-302 reauthorization it passed, flood insurance continues to be a problem. For example, here’s what insurance execs think about it.

Last year, when Hurricane Harvey barreled into Houston, it destroyed $125 billion of property but reduced GDP by just $8.5 billion. Even Katrina, which did $161 billion of damage, reduced economic output by just $31 billion, and overall GDP was a strong 3.6% that quarter. These events aren't big enough to hit a $20 trillion economy. While Hurricane Florence has done $30-$35 billion in damage, lost GDP will be tiny.

Lenders should know that the FHA issued a waiver of its policy on the timeframe for completing the inspection of properties prior to closing or submitting the mortgage for FHA insurance endorsement in the August 4, 2018, Presidentially-Declared Major Disaster Area (PDMDA) due to the California Wildfires and High Winds declaration (DR-4382) in Lake and Shasta Counties.

“For mortgages in process secured by properties in a PDMDA that have not closed or are pending endorsement, mortgagees must follow the guidance contained in the Single-Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1 (SF Handbook) Section II.A.7.c, Inspection and Repair Escrow Requirements for Mortgages Pending Closing or Endorsement in Presidentially-Declared Major Disaster Areas. FHA’s current policy requires that a damage inspection be performed following the close of the Incident Period as defined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).”

“FHA issued a waiver for properties in Lake and Shasta Counties, CA, regarding the timing of the required inspection, allowing damage inspections to be completed beginning October 2, 2018, for properties located in the PDMDA. This waiver does not affect mortgagees’ obligations to exercise prudent lending practices and ensure that mortgages they submit for endorsement fully comply with FHA’s property eligibility requirements, as well as any property condition requirements related to claims processing.” Mortgagees can find more information about FHA’s PDMDA policies, as well as the 203(h) Mortgage Insurance for Disaster Victims Program and the 203(k) Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance Program, on the FHA Resource Center’s Online Knowledge Base.

Pacific Union requires certifications from Correspondents for properties in the affected counties for purchase to occur. See Pacific Union’s Disaster Area Policy for detailed requirements.

Mortgage Solutions Financial posted revised announcement 19-18W regarding the Hurricane Florence- Disaster Alert.

PennyMac Correspondent Group has posted an updated announcement to its Disaster Policy Implementation regarding Hurricane Florence.

As FEMA declares assistance for counties affected by Hurricane Florence. In accordance with the Fannie Mae Selling Guide policy, these counties have been added to its appraisal waiver exclusion list in DU. For a list of the affected counties, visit FEMA's Hurricane Florence page. For more information about Fannie Mae appraisal waivers, visit its Appraisal Waivers and Assistance in Disasters pages.

Plaza has updated the declared disaster area list to include 18 counties in North Carolina that FEMA has declared a disaster and eligible for individual assistance. In addition, Plaza has determined additional counties in both North and South Carolina that have been affected by the storm but have not yet been declared a disaster by FEMA.

Mortgage Solutions Financial posted a revised announcement regarding the Hurricane Florence- Disaster Alert.

In preparation for the landfall of Hurricane Florence, Mortgage Solutions Financial has suspended closing & funding in select counties North Carolina and South Carolina. The closing & funding suspension has been lifted as of September 19th, 2018. View its announcement for details.

Regarding the flooding, Pacific Union Financial reminded its clients (not borrowers) that any questions about Pacific Union and natural disasters can submit them here. View the Pacific Union’s Disaster Area Policy for detailed requirements.

All fundings in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Associated with Ditech’s Jumbo and Expanded Criteria Products have been suspended.

PennyMac Correspondent Group posted 18-38: Update to Disaster Policy Implementation: Hurricane Florence.

Capital Markets

Rates dropped slightly yesterday as markets continued to digest the U.S., Mexico, Canadian trade deal and speculated on the ramifications of China now being singled out as the lone American trade enemy. European investors remained focused on Italian debt after Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio pushed back against suggestions that the deficit target for 2019 should be lowered. Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell stayed in-line with past comments, reiterating the Fed's intention to "act with authority" in the event of an inflationary spike. And the Reserve Bank of Australia left its cash rate unchanged at 1.50%, acknowledging that credit conditions have tightened in recent months.

Turning to today, the calendar is highlighted by eight Fed speakers (Chicago's Evans, Richmond's Barkin, Philadelphia's Harker, Governor Brainard, St. Louis' Bullard, Cleveland's Mester, Fed Chair Powell, and finally Dallas' Kaplan). We have already received weekly MBA mortgage applications for the week ending September 28 (up slightly). September’s ADP report was next (+230k – stronger than expected). Final September Market Services PMI will be released at 9:45am and is expected to tick up, followed at 10:00am by ISM Nonmanufacturing PMI for September, to which no change is called. The 10-year seems content yielding 3.09% and agency MBS prices are worse .125 versus Tuesday’s close.

Vendor M&A

Optimal Blue acquired LoanLogics’ PPE LoanDecisions, previously known as NYLX.

In another expansion for OB, the company just acquired the LoanDecisions PPE, marking the beginning of what seems to be a consolidation trend in the PPE space. With a client count now exceeding 2,000+, you can expect this acquisition to provide Optimal Blue with even more scale to support an already significant investment in secondary marketing automation and technology. LoanLogics’ PPE customers will migrate to the Optimal Blue PPE, and employees will join the OB team. (Recall that last month OB completed the integration certification of the HomeScout National MLS Platform enabling mutual clients to create their own leads directly with consumers, convert borrowers earlier in the process than traditionally possible, and generate referrals for their real estate partners by bringing the home and mortgage shopping experiences together.)

Jobs, Company Moves, and Promotions

First Community Mortgage (FCM) announced a new Renovation Lending Initiative, striving to be the Renovation Lender of Choice. With the aging housing stock and limited housing inventory, this team will provide powerful resources to help future and current homeowners update, renovate, and customize existing homes. Cathy Bishop leads the team as FCM’s Renovation Lending Manager. Cathy has 25+ years mortgage experience, with the last nine years in renovation lending. Her focus is to manage renovation loans, create policies and procedures, and serve as a mentor to the new team and its customers. Jeff Talman serves as the Renovation Lending Specialist. With 16 years of experience in originating renovation loans, he makes the ideal originator partner to the Renovation Lending Team to create and deliver training on the benefits of renovation lending. FCM is excited about the opportunities to engage with future and current homeowners.

PRMG continues to expand its national footprint by opening 4 new retail locations during the month of September!  Along with the drive and ambition to bring the American Dream of Homeownership to all cities across the country, PRMG has now opened its doors in Clearwater, FL; Tampa, FL; Belgrade, MT and Sandy, UT. PRMG is Built by Originators for Originators and is devoted to continuously growing its retail platform. If you are a Motivated Loan Originator who wants to be Progressively Better, contact Chris Sorensen (909.262.0452).

Southern Trust Mortgage is thrilled to announce that effective October 1, 2018, Jack Lane will be joining the company as President. Mr. Lane has over 25 years of experience leading multibillion-dollar retail mortgage lenders, including 7 years as President at Monarch Mortgage and TowneBank Mortgage. “Southern Trust Mortgage is uniquely positioned by having strong internal leadership, vision, as well as the backing of an established bank. This was the obvious choice for the next chapter in my career,” said Lane, “Southern Trust has built an extraordinary platform that loan officers and their customers can’t find anywhere else.” Former President and CEO Jerry Flowers will remain actively involved as Executive Chairman and majority shareholder. Anthony T. (Tuck) Reed will assume the role of CEO. Southern Trust Mortgage is a mortgage lender that has served more the 65,000 families. Southern Trust Mortgage, LLC (NMLS 2921) is an Equal Housing Lender.

The StoneHill Group announced that Steven Arnold CMB will join the company as its Strategic Initiatives Program Manager. “Arnold will provide senior level leadership in the implementation of a dossier of key projects and transformation activities of strategic importance.”