I am always of a mind to have work being paid for in writing.

What you expect from the job once completed,how much your investment will be for the entire project and who is responsible for all the details(say,clean-up and disposal of debris)

Starting date,ending date(weather days,excluded,etc).

WHO is doing the actual work, the contractor or sub-contractors,who has the liability insurance,etc.

Always a good idea to have things in writing.

yes!!

If you do not have a contract drawn up you could possibly have a case of extra add ons that were not calculated into at the time the job was agreed on. This protects you from this type of unscrupulous workmen helping themselves to your bank account with both hands. Also you need to have some type of time frame added in as well as the contractor or workman can take much longer if they so chose to.

I forgot to add that I have seen this happen to some of my elderly neighbors who only "verbally" contracted with workmen to do some repairs to their homes only to end up basically swindled out of money for the job not being completed.

Be sure NOT to pay the total amount up front otherwise the workman may just "forget" to finish the job after he's lost interest. The pay as the job gets completed is the only way to go - be sure to incorporate that into the contract as well.