REO's & Short Sales in Berkeley, CA

What experiences can we share with a Buyer interested in making an offer on an REO or short sale that would be their principal residence?  How do we prepare them for the difficult and uncertain journey?  One description I use is that "it is like buying a lottery ticket without knowing when the lottery will take place, if the lottery will take place, or how the winner will be selected."  Another image I like is to ask the Buyer to imagine that their offer is going into a giant paper shredder with the hope that someone on the other side will put the pieces back together and read their offer.