re: Eviction: first time, any suggestions?

I don’t know what area you’re in. So the best general advice is to know your lease and know the laws that govern residential leasing in your area. Follow both to the t. Be professional in your approach and never get cute or come off as vengeful (no matter how much the tenant has peeved you off). You don’t want a judge to think that you’re working off of a side agenda or personal hard feelings.

And no, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll get an eviction before Christmas. At least where I live, there’s still a backlog. So here, you’d be lucky to get a court date before the first of the year.

I know it’s frustrating, but good luck.