Hello,
I've read the thread so far but still one question bothers me. Is the payment for hashrate a recurring payment or one time? It says Lifetime contract but does that mean I pay one and get profits until possible?
Sorry if the question is lame but looking forward to hearing a simple and correct answer.
Thanks

Yes that's exactly how it works with the scrypt and sha contracts. You pay once and as long as the maintenance fees are covered you will get paid daily.
ETH and X11 are a bit different. They last one year and then they expire.