It was time to buy an alcove studio in Manhattan.
But an alcove studio would do - he could add a wall and turn it into a one-bedroom.
Two north-facing alcove studios came available at the same time.
He was stunned to learn the alcove studio had previously been home to a married couple with three young children.
On the 10th floor, two alcove studios were for sale, each with around 650 square feet.
The doorman told them of a vacant alcove studio, for $1,900 a month, and gave them the key.
The apartment was what a real estate broker would have called an alcove studio.
She found a listing for a 600-square-foot alcove studio at 100 West 57th Street, asking $240,000.
She bid the asking price, $279,000, for an alcove studio of nearly 600 square feet.
Within weeks, it became clear that her business was too space-intensive for her $1,400-a-month alcove studio.
