Gold is pretty easy to come by, so if you don't mindread Willy to know for sure it is a scam, it would be tempting to take a gamble on the offer.
If he shows up in Aleroth during the FoV section, there may be differences depending on whether you paid him or not. In D2:ED, at least, it doesn't really trigger anything new.
He will approach you 3 times in Broken Valley to ask for money, claiming to need more for materials or permits if you give him any to build or buy a house in either of the first 2 encounters.