I want to share a story with you. We recently moved and my elder son, who is now in second grade, has to read 20 minutes a night. We fill out a sheet informing the teacher about the title of the book he read and how many minutes it took him to read it. What does this have to do with mortgage technology? A lot.
How? You might ask. Given that we’re still unpacking from the move, we don’t have easy access to our children’s books as yet. My son only gets one library book a week from school and he finishes the whole book the same day he borrows it. So, I was stuck.
What do I do? He had to read 20 minutes a night and I didn’t have a book for him to read. I didn’t want my son getting a label as the new kid in town who doesn’t do his homework. To top it all off, I was an English major who still loves to read. I like the fact that the teacher makes him read 20 minutes a night.
But what do I make him read? I went through the house searching and searching for a book. I couldn’t find anything. At that moment it came to me: Surf the Internet Dad and get a free online book that your son can read off the computer. So, that’s just what I did.
Well, it was a huge success. My son loves reading books online now. Problem solved, right? Wrong. Now, the minute I get home he keeps asking, “When are we going to read a book online Dad?” It isn't really a problem I guess. We read every night online now and it’s a real bonding experience. We look forward to it.
The only problem is my son doesn’t want to read paper books anymore. If it’s not online, he’s disinterested in reading it. He wants to read the books with me every night on the computer. He won’t have it any other way.If by just getting one taste of reading online, my seven-year-old was hooked to the point of insisting that he now reads everything online, do you think he’s going to want to go through a paper mortgage process when it comes time for him to buy a house? I don’t think so.
And as I see this unfold in front of my eyes, in my very home, I wonder if mortgage lenders are ready to deal with my son. If they’re not, they better get moving.
