U. S. home repossessions rose to a nine-month high in November, even as the number of homes starting on the path to foreclosure declined to the lowest level in 6 years.  This marks the 1st annual increase in bank repossessions since October 2010, when allegations of abuses by the mortgage industry compelled many lenders to temporarily halt foreclosures.  This is the lowest number of foreclosure starts since December 2006.  The combination of declining foreclosure starts & a sharp increase in the number of homes taken back by lenders signals that banks are moving to complete foreclosures on homes with mortgages that have gone uppaid for a year or 2.  It’s likely that the borrowers who own these homes already tried to refinance, get a loan modification or sell the homes as a short sale – when the bank agrees to accept less that what is owed on the mortgage – but did not success, said Daren Blomquist, a vice president at RealtyTrac.