I think the answer lies with Sam's listing in the Marketplace section of this site.  He appears to be advertising $15 flat fee lien r/ds for foreclosures for anywhere in the country which means he's casting a wide net, so it would make sense for him to collect his fee up front (& through paypal yet).  I suspect that if he gets a permanent client or two out of it, all to the good, but since he's offering what I think of as "temporary" work then that particular business model works for him.