(Photo: Michael Edwards)

THE CLIENTS
Christine Norrie and Andrew Lis, a married couple; their daughter, Josie; and their dog, Orwell.

THE BROKERS
Linda Cook Mann, Benjamin James
Auguste Olson, Mark David & Co.
Anthony Dellecave, Citi Habitats

THE CHALLENGE
Norrie and Lis live with their toddler and their foxhound mix in a tiny two-bedroom fifth-floor walk-up on Thompson Street. When their lease expired this February, the two went month-to-month, paying $1,850, but will go as high as $2,450 for the right space. (They want to stay in the West Village but won’t pay more than that because they’re saving to buy a place.) Norrie, an artist at work on her next graphic novel, Breaking Up, could use more work space; she’d also love a dishwasher. Lis, who troops to the laundromat once a week, wouldn’t mind a washer and dryer in the building, and Josie looks forward to splashing around in a full-size tub instead of their current mini-version. (Orwell just wants to be loved.) The family tried Staten Island a couple of years back—in a three-story Victorian—but “nobody ever came out,” says Norrie. “This is how we want to raise our child. We want Josie to be a Village kid, and we’ll sacrifice space for that.”

THE RULES
Each broker had a week to find a place, and got one shot: one walk-through of one apartment.