Stolar says the bills over the years had grown to almost $600,000. She is with the Texas-based law firm of Linebarger, Goggan, Blair, Pena & Sampson, a firm that focuses solely on helping governmental entities with collections.

The taxing bodies had procured a judgment for the outstanding monies. Instead of pushing to collect, they chose to work with the owner to sell the acreage on the open market. That way, says Stolar, they stood a better chance of payment in full on the delinquent bills. Most likely, a county auction would have reaped just a fraction of the overdue taxes. At the time of the sale, Stolar says the tax bills and the land's value were about equal.

About a year ago, Christopher S. Klein with the Houston office of Colliers International was brought on board by Khan to help sell the property. Klein cited a confidentiality agreement in his refusal to speak about the deal. Stolar credits Klein with pushing the deal to completion.

Harris Masterson IV of the Houston office of CB Richard Ellis represented SSM in the transaction. Masterson could not be reached by press time for comment. Stolar isn't sure what SSM intends to do with the tract. Khan, on the other hand, had always talked about building a housing development, she says.