It sounds like you have learned a valuable lesson. I'm sure you'll do better next time. In general, yes, you write the contract, and pay no more than half up fr

It sounds like you have learned a valuable lesson. I'm sure you'll do better next time. In general, yes, you write the contract, and pay no more than half up front. But before you get into all these contract details, the area to work on is figuring out who is honest & competent; and who is not. Try to be sure about that before you worry about contracts. Contracts only keep honest people honest; they're not much good when someone is out to rip you off.