I would do what I do, when I find them parked in the dead end in front of my house, I call Community Watch. They will go around and find out who it belongs to and make them move it. If they can't find the owner, they leave a warning note on it.

Army Guy

Uh, as a ret. law enforcement Officer, did anyone think it could be stolen???
I would have the tags checked, but thats just me.

As Sparky said, it could be a stolen car. After having the tags run in a day or two, I would just let it be.

Of course, I am still waiting for the suitcases to be returned:(.

One time when my BIL & SIL was visiting us in TV, someone, probably a neighbor, was suspicious of the unfamiliar car in our driveway and called the sheriff's department.

A deputy ran the plates, then called BIL to ask why the car was there. The deputy also spoke with us to verify. It was handled professionally and we and our visitors were impressed with the community support and security. No harm, no foul.

Personally, I think it's better to be safe than sorry.

Mystery solved
 

Thanks again for all the responses. I finally got ahold of my next door neighbor and found out that another neighbor in a nearby villa was having his driveway painted and parked in the driveway until the paint dried. Now I gotta get ahold of the FBI and call off the dogs! :D

That is the way I would handle it, Pt. In our neighborhood we park in each others drive but only after receiving permission. I keep an eye on a snowbird neighbor's house. If someone calls him to ask permission to use his driveway, he immediately calls me. Otherwise I would call the authorities.

Army Guy, how does Community Watch find out who owns the car? I don't recall giving anyone information on my vehicles.

I don't mean to butt in on Army Guy but I think the CW can have the police check out the registration number. At one time I manage some commercial property in Florida and I could call local law enforcement and they would give me the details based on the registration number.

I hope they don't give out too much info
 

Can you imagine if the police gave out your home address to anyone who called and gave them your car licence number. Say you are at Disney and someone copies down your plate number calls up the cops and then gets your address knowing your not home so they can rob you. Sounds a little off to me,

I can't say about Florida, but in New York I was a Supervising Motor Vehicle Representative for several years. We were not allowed to give information off our records to law enforcement officers in person or over the phone, not even to the state police. On in person requests we were required to send them to another security unit at a different location. I would hope it's the same process in Florida.

Sorry, I think this is a big brouhaha over nothing. I agree that if this had happened in California or New York or ...., I would have had a hissy fit that someone parked in my driveway without permission. However, strangely enough, this is The Villages. It really is a different mindset.

If I see a strange car parked in a driveway either at home or a friend's house, I do knock on doors to find out whose car it is and give them a head's up if I need to get in/out of the garage within the next few days and then let the owners know what's going on. Now, if I can't find anyone laying claim to the car, then it is time to call the police. For TV, parking in driveways is a neighborly thing to do. Have never seen anything like it anywhere else in the world, but it is our own special little bubble.

They don't run the plates etc. They physically go from house to house in the area checking who owns it. That is why if they can not find the owner, they leave one of their warning citations on it. Works very effective. We use to have a very big problem witth the parking, now it is very rare.

Army Guy

....and there it is. Thanks redwitch.

As the OP of this thread, I guess that makes me responsible for this "big brouhaha over nothing!" However, don't expect me to be apologetic anytime soon for having started it so as to not act impulsively upon being notified that someone was using my property without my knowledge or permission without first seeking the opinions or advise of others who have been around TV much longer than I have. I also have to disagree that it was over nothing.

Several years ago I experienced what I would call a traumatic experience involving my father when someone parked on his property in front of his garage. I was at work at the time and was called and told I should get to his house as soon as possible. When I arrived the police were in front of his house and the cop was on the front porch with my upset mother. The cop explained what happened and felt that I should be with my father who was inside the house on the floor, angry and shaking uncontrollably like I had never seen him do before, and stay until he calmed down. He apparently had an emotional breakdown caused by the buildup in anger when he said something to the driver of the illegally parked vehicle and was confronted by him.

Seemingly that driver felt he was entitled to do what he wanted whenever he wanted and wasn't apologetic about it. It took around a couple of hours before we could calm my father down enough so he could get up and move himself to his bed. It was about 3 days later before he got over it enough to finally leave the bed, except for usage of the bathroom, and resume his normal routine.

Hopefully, my sharing that will help you understand why my concern wasn't over nothing. It helped me avoid acting impulsively and possibly incorrectly like I feel my father did.

Also, I have to ask, could it have the potential of being a big deal if it turned out that is was not a neighbor using the driveway, but rather occupancy for some other potentially undesirable purpose. And would it still be a no big deal if the vehicle was there without permission and the oil leaked from the vehicle staining my driveway? I don’t know if it would have been, but it could have. Remember, I did not have the benefit of your experience or the experience of many others here on TOTV when I was notified of the presence of the auto, and I saw the problem through a different prism as a new resident who wasn’t quite sure how to react and simply sought advise!

Skyguy,

I'm so sorry your father had such an upsetting experience, and that you and your family were affected so badly. You are right to ensure that the vehicle on your property was there for innocent purposes. And, by talking it over with us here on TOTV, we all learned from your question, and you were able to hear ideas and opinions from others who had experienced the same circumstance.