The Night Tripper gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying:

I think the most likely buyer would be a building firm who would
modernise it and sell it on at a higher price.

Yeh, right. I'm with "demolish and build several".

FWIW 'fairly large garden' doesn't mean 'large enough to build several
houses on'! It's around 1/4 acre IIRC - with a large lawn and a
vegetable/'orchard' plot at the top.

You're not familiar with modern residential development techniques, are
you?

I start the bidding at five "executive homes".