Kenneth and Ann Stephen found themselves among a handful of bidders for the house that was to become their home. Looking back, they are convinced that their obvious enthusiasm and knowledge of the building were the deciding factors in the bid going their way.
That was 37 years ago, and the corridors of Northfield House, in Balerno, near Edinburgh, still echo to the sound of the couple's obvious love for their home's history.
Kenneth has a PhD in philosophy as well as a background in gold and diamond mining in South Africa and in television; he retired 20 years ago as head of the television department at Heriot-Watt University.
And, with the meticulous eye of an academic, he has the story of Northfield - and its listed rose garden - precisely documented in black and white.
When the architect Walter Crum Watson created Northfield for himself, his four live-in servants, chauffeur and gardener in 1911, he had already built the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, in Devon.
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He also helped to fund an inventory of the formal gardens of Scotland and England and wrote a book about Portuguese architecture.
He comes across less like an architect than a devotee of the Grand Tour. For every cast-iron thistle, there are ceramic tiles from the Netherlands and fleur-de-lis motifs. What's described as an "oriental capital" sits on top of a column of granite from Ailsa Craig. The original bell system to summon servants is in working order.
In the library, over the carved stone fireplace, sits a "Scottish kist" depicting various scenes from the church and the law. The living room is what used to be the smoking room.
An Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes, by Historic Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage, calls the Stephens's garden "an outstanding example of a well-preserved arts and crafts garden".
Northfield is in the Scottish baronial style. B-listed, it is not only huge but also, in parts, breathtaking - not least with its oak-panelled, 38ft-long drawing room, which has a barrel ceiling without a single crack in the plaster thanks to its ingenious "pivot and roller system" of construction.
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An equally ingenious central heating system has since been replaced by a more modern version. Thick walls and ahead-of-its-time thermal insulation mean the house feels warmer than its generous dimensions would suggest.
The oak panelling oozes warmth, love and attention. Every year, Ann and a woman who helps with the cleaning patiently apply the beeswax polish. It was not always thus. When the couple moved in, dried-out panelling was not the only fault that they had to fix.
"The house was in a state," says Ann. "The previous owners, I think, were impressed by us when we first came to look at it. I immediately spotted the Dutch tiles and I think that didn't go unnoticed.
The couple are now selling up, and Ann says: "Whoever buys the house would not want to tamper with its history. You just couldn't modernise it, except here and there. It is an historic house and you'd need to love history to want to live in it."
It cost them £33,500 to buy and, without access to sources of funding beyond what they were earning, it was a financial struggle. It helped that the servants' quarters could be accessed separately, via a back door. The plan had been to create separate accommodation for Kenneth's younger brother and sister. When that didn't happen, the couple took in a lodger. A cottage within the two-acre garden was also let to a gardener in return for services. "It took the duration of paying the mortgage, 25 years, before we felt we could relax, financially," says Kenneth.
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Ann adds: "Early on, I was on the telephone to my father and told him we were thinking of selling the cottage and a piece of land, and he strongly said we shouldn't. I remember saying to him that we didn't have any curtains or carpets and he replied that we should just do without. And we did."
The new owners of Northfield will have Ann and Kenneth Stephen for near neighbours in a house more appropriate to their advancing years.
"I wouldn't like someone to come in and rip the place apart," says Ann. "But I don't think they would want to - you'd lose the character."
Kenneth says: "I would want someone who is willing to look after it, someone who we therefore can live next door to, as a neighbour."
Northfield, Balerno, near Edinburgh is for sale for offers over £1.95m. For details, contact Strutt & Parker, 0131 226 2500