HOME REPAIR SCAMS ARE LURKING AROUND THE CORNER.

Byline: GREGORY J. WILCOX

With springlike weather finally returning, home-repair scammers will be in full bloom during the weeks ahead.

That makes it critical for homeowners to take care when hiring help to fix any serious water damage that may have occurred while torrential rains pounded Southern California this winter.

``The potential is definitely there,'' said Tully Lehman, spokesman for the Insurance Information Network. ``They may take the money and run or just make it look like the work has been done, which is really unfortunate.''

In the latter case, a homeowner may end up paying twice for the same repair.

And some scammers work in packs.

``These groups or families come into California when the weather gets better,'' said Steve Sands, registrar of the California Contractors State License Board said in an advisory last week. ``That's when they can better peddle their phony roof repairs, driveway asphalting or tree trimming services.''

The department formed a Statewide Investigative Fraud Team, and Friday it said 11 unlicensed contractors had been nabbed during a sting operation in Norwalk.

State insurance commissioner John Garamendi said that, after destructive fires last year in Southern California, a state and national task force arrested 61 people for repair scams.

It's OK to call your homeowners insurance company for advice on finding a contractor or ask about policy limits, although, in the past, that could have led to increased premiums or canceled insurance.

``We put a stop to that with legislation,'' Garamendi said.

The contractors board suggests looking for the following when hiring help:

--Door-to-door solicitations or unsolicited offers to do painting, roofing or paving work.

--Claims that using leftover materials will result in a big savings.

--Any high-pressure or scare tactic.

--Reluctance of a contractor to sign a written contract.

--A demand for cash payment.

--New vehicles and out-of-state license plates.

--A toll-free telephone number, instead of a local number, as a contact.

Contractors must be licensed if the cost of the job, including labor and materials, is $500 or more.

It's also a good idea not to pay for work until it's done and to find out what vendor is supplying materials and find out the contractor's bill-paying history. In some cases, it might make sense to make the check out to both the contractor and the vendor.

That's a good way to make sure you don't get stuck being billed for materials the contractor was supposed to buy, the board said.

Homeowners can also check out the status of a contractor's license and whether complaints have been filed by logging on to www.cslb.ca.gov or calling [phone].

Gregory J. Wilcox, [phone]

greg.wilcox(at)dailynews.com