Orientation (and a stolen mailbox!)

We had our new-home orientation Monday afternoon. It took about 45 minutes, and we just basically walked around the outside of the home, and then through the inside. Terry, the customer care manager, pointed out features of our house and talked about the various warranties. He also showed us little tips and tricks, like how to hand-crank the disposal in the kitchen sink when we put too much stuff in and clog it up, and also some hints about how to get a good fire going in our fireplace. He also showed us how to use the major mechanicals, like the heat pump, and explained how during the cold winter months the outside HVAC unit will be completely covered in ice, then 20 minutes later it will be melted away as the heat pump goes into its defrost cycle. (I guess that's something you folks down in the warmer climates don't really have to worry about!) He also showed us all of the warranty paperwork and who to call if something goes wrong. Finally, we got a coupon for a free paint touch-up kit -- apparently people rough up the walls a little bit when they move in.

That was Monday afternoon. Tuesday evening we drove by the house specifically to check for mail (our insurance company has insisted on mailing our policies, etc., to the new house, even though we aren't technically there yet). As we pulled up, we were appalled to find out that we had no mailbox!!! We looked around, and there is definitely the hole in the ground for the mailbox, but no mailbox. We thought maybe one of the construction vehicles had accidentally knocked it over, but there were no tire tracks or anything like that in the grass. Then we noticed that a couple of the other vacant houses in the neighborhood also were missing their mailboxes (the houses that were already occupied, like our neighbor, still had their mailbox).

Well, figuring that maybe Beazer Homes was doing something with our mailboxes, we sent our construction manager, Steve, an e-mail last night. Alas, no such luck. The reply came from Steve this morning:

Good morning. Monday night we had a total of 5 mail boxes stolen. Monroe County Sheriff was notified Tuesday morning. We are working with our purchasing dept to have another one set today.

So, we haven't even moved in yet, and already we are in the midst of a crime wave! Originally we couldn't decide whether or not to get the home security system -- now I think I'm glad that we did. And, fortunately, we had checked our mailbox right after the orientation (late Monday afternoon), so hopefully none of our mail was actually stolen Monday night.