A few days ago, I overheard a conversation at the courthouse where a property owner was asking a clerk questions about the procedures for evicting someone.

As the story goes, he felt sorry for a friend who needed a place to live. It turns out this friend was a bad tenant (which is why he lost his previous address) and hasn’t paid rent for several months. It’s been one excuse after another.

The property owner, being a friend of the family, felt sorry at first for the kids involved. He told the clerk “didn’t want to force them to move during the school year.” That’s why he waited during the spring, even though he had legal grounds then to evict them. Well, the rent was still not paid during the summer.

So he’s finally taking them to court. The property owner has to pay taxes and maintenance on that property. Nobody is giving him a break on those expenses. He has every right to expect to receive rent money

He still feels sorry for the tenant’s kids, who now have to move out around the start of the school year.

But like the clerk told him, he didn’t cause the problem. The renters did.