[ilaksh]

I think the reason people have negative experiences is because of a few things. One, many companies or individuals have projects that just don't have adequate budgets. So even if the freelancer recognizes and tells them, it can be hard for them to accept the limitations of their budget. This means the freelancer may feel forced to just barely get the software out and get paid lest the project bankrupts them.

The project owner, having never accepted that he did not have enough budget for his project, just blames the freelancer for poor quality.

Another thing is that it is about 100 times easier to sell someone a website or web application than it is to actually make it. So there are going to be people with marginal skills getting lots of business. And, even if their skills are not that bad, they may decide they need to sign customers even though they don't have the staff at that time. It can be easy for projects to go over scheduled time especially as buyers don't want to acknowledge the limitations of their budget.

The trick is to find someone honest. So start with a smaller project and if the communication isn't good or falters then you give them a short warning and then just have to fire them. Don't hope it will get better.