Mr. GAFFEN: It looks like just getting the place took everything that they had.

NPR: Homebuyer Looks For Deals In Short Sales

Mr. BEN GAFFEN (Piano Tuner, Musician): I was looking around at stuff, and the decent stuff was 450 to 650.

NPR: Homebuyer Looks For Deals In Short Sales

Mr. GAFFEN: I'll be paying about the same a month as I'm paying to live in a crummy apartment now.

NPR: Homebuyer Looks For Deals In Short Sales

After more than two months of waiting on the bank, last week Ben Gaffen canceled his offer on the house on Baltimore Street.

NPR: Homebuyer Looks For Deals In Short Sales

The house is still a fixer, with smelly carpeting that Gaffen can't wait to pull out, and there are some termites to contend with.

NPR: Homebuyer Looks For Deals In Short Sales

Ben Gaffen is prepared to put down a lot of cash, 30 percent, which means he's probably in good shape for getting a loan.

NPR: Homebuyer Looks For Deals In Short Sales

Mr. GAFFEN: I thought that was the loony bin, myself, personally.

NPR: Homebuyer Looks For Deals In Short Sales

Ben Gaffen, the piano tuner, doesn't know the current owners, who bought the house for over half a million dollars just a year and a half ago.

NPR: Homebuyer Looks For Deals In Short Sales

That's the case for Ben Gaffen(ph) in Los Angeles.

NPR: Homebuyer Looks For Deals In Short Sales

Gaffen is a piano tuner and a musician.

NPR: Homebuyer Looks For Deals In Short Sales

JAEGER-MILLER: Not that Gaffen had to wait.

NPR: Homebuyer Looks For Deals In Short Sales

JAEGER-MILLER: Of course Gaffen was right.

NPR: Homebuyer Looks For Deals In Short Sales