Florida seems to be particularly creative, too: pay
your contractor,
contractor doesn't pay their supplier, supplier puts lien on _your_
house for the money owed. Want to keep your house? Better pay again
and then try to extract that money from the contractor later by
way of the courts.
Lien laws are total BS and written by special interest groups. They are also
not unique to any one state. They exist in all states. Although some places
are slightly better. In CA a lien can't be perfected unless you go to "big
court" which costs money and lawyers. So unless you stiffed someone of out
of mucho bucks it usually never happens.
-Ali