Seller Financing advice needed

[Angela Hollis]

I need advice on my situation. I, the owner, did a seller finance 5-year contract on a house in Texas. That contract expired last year. Buyer is still paying same monthly payment. I'm in the military and was in the middle of a hectic transfer so I didn't push the issue then. I don't think he's in a position to buy out the house in full. He had a personal crisis a few months ago and was really late with payments, although he did tell me ahead of time. He is now current. I sent him an email saying we need to discuss the situation a few weeks ago with no reply. I've had a few problems with him over the years of paying late and not paying late fees as stated in the contract. We tried having him get insurance on his own once, he stopped paying after 6 months so I went back to paying it myself and adding it into the monthly payment. My question is, should I even consider a new contract with him at a higher interest rate? The original was 5%. I still have a loan on the house and it's an adjustable rate. I spoke with the mortgage company and to refinance, the best rate I could get was 4.5% at 15 yr amortization. That's about 1% higher than I'm at right now. Or should I just force him to buy out the house in full? If he can't and I wanted him out, would it be a foreclosure or eviction since the contract is expired?