the problem with freelancers...is the programmers get overwhelmed. A crappy little app that would take someone decent 2 weeks to program, will end up taking 8-10 months. Because the guy is juggling your project with 20 other ones.

But yeah, if you have no other option freelancing sites are the way to go. At least this way you can get the basic site up, and then have something to offer to get a decent programmer as a co-founder.