Alexandra Andorfer and George Croton in Northern California, where they searched for a new house after years of renting in San Francisco. Rachel Bujalski for The New York Times

Nearly a decade as renters didn’t dampen Alexandra Andorfer and George Croton’s love of San Francisco. They made the most of their 950 square feet, even finding ways to grow their family — now with two dogs and two cats — in their two-bedroom just off Buena Vista Park, near the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.