The proceedings shall be conducted as other civil actions, and the court, on final decree, shall apportion the costs of the proceedings equitably, and the cost so apportioned, shall be a lien upon the said lands, severally, as against any transfer or incumbrance made of, or attaching to said lands, from the time of the filing of the complaint: PROVIDED, A notice of lis pendens, is filed in the auditor's office of the proper county, in accordance with law.