Banks and other lenders continued to aggressively repossess central Ohio homes in May, in some cases years after the homeowners had fallen into foreclosure.

Banks and government agencies took back 801 central Ohio homes during the month, more than double the April number and almost four times the number repossessed a year earlier, according to the mortgage service RealtyTrac.

May was the sixth straight month that bank repossessions rose in the Columbus area.

The rise in repossessions comes in spite of a three-year drop in foreclosures.

But for a variety of reasons, including legal delays and efforts to reach accords with borrowers, lenders did not move to repossess many of the homes until now.

“We’re getting to a point where some of these homeowners have just exhausted every alternative to foreclosure,” said RealtyTrac Vice President Daren Blomquist.

“We’re finally not kicking the can down the road again.”

Home repossessions also rose nationally and statewide in May, according to RealtyTrac. Across the country, repossessions rose for the third straight month, and in Ohio they jumped 114 percent in May from a year earlier. Despite the jumps, repossessions remain well below the 2013 peak.

jweiker@dispatch.com

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