When an action is commenced in any court in this state for the benefit of the state, to enforce the penalty of, or to recover money upon, an official bond or obligation, or any bond or obligation executed in favor of the state of Idaho, or of the people of this state, the attorney or other person prosecuting the action may file with the court in which the action is commenced an affidavit, stating either positively or on information and belief that such bond or obligation was executed by the defendant or one or more of the defendants (designating whom), and made payable to the people of this state, or to the state of Idaho, and that the defendant or defendants have real estate or interest in lands (designating the county or counties in which the same is situated), and that the action is prosecuted for the benefit of the state; and thereupon the clerk receiving such affidavit must certify, to the recorder of the county in which such real estate is situated, the names of the parties to the action, the name of the court in which the action is pending and the amount claimed in the complaint, with the date of the commencement of the suit.