One in two homes sold in Orange County, Calif., which boasts 42 miles of breathtaking beach-side real estate, in July 2011 were of the distressed variety, according to a report from NBC Los Angeles.

Foreclosures, short sales and bank-owned properties, which account for about 33 percent of the total listings currently for sale on Southern California hot spot’s market, were a major focus of buyers/investors in the area. And more than a 100 of the listed properties were for sale for more than $1 million, which is about 3 percent of all distressed listings.

Who are the new faces moving into town? First-time homebuyers, mainly, according to Steven Thomas, a local broker who tracks home sales in the area:

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Retired Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher John Smoltz has an outstanding $1.6 million balance on a vacant piece of property in the Snake River Sporting Club, which is located in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

If the former eight-time All Star and one-time Cy Young Award-winner doesn’t reconcile the debt with his lender the property will be put up for public auction in a foreclosure sale on Aug. 23, 2011, according to Jackson Hole Daily.

It’s possible that Smoltz, who now serves as a color commentator for the Atlanta Braves, the team that he spent two decades as a starting pitcher and closer, simply walked away from the investment. Snake River Sporting Club was described as “troubled” and has been embroiled in a bankruptcy case since 2004.

Smoltz retired from baseball in 2009. He is the only pitcher in the long, distinguished history of the sport to record more than 200 wins and 150 saves in a single career.

The national housing crisis, and the various programs that have been implemented to correct it, have been well documented in the news and elsewhere. So much so that it’s seemingly impossible to escape.

Nothing is “reportedly” working. Not consistently, anyway, to stem the foreclosure tide and help distressed homeowners keep roofs over their heads.

But, alas, there is the story of Deborah Johnson in the Herald Tribune today, which details the “offer she couldn’t refuse” from her mortgage lender, JP Morgan Chase.

Behind on her mortgage for nearly two years, and seemingly headed for foreclosure, Johnson thought she had exhausted all options. But then Chase called her up one day and offered to forgive $100,000 of her debt, as well as give her $35,000 cash, to move out of her Sarasota, Fla., home.

The catch? All she had to do was agree to a short sale and help find a new buyer to live in her four-bedroom Lockwood Lakes home.

With cash in her pocket, credit salvaged and comfort knowing that she would not be pursued by creditors in the future, Johnson accepted the offer and is currently helping the bank show the home, which is on the market for $118,000, to prospective/buyers investors.

So what’s in it for CHASE, or any other lender in a similar situation? Company spokeswoman Nancy Norris explains the reasoning:

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The childhood home of Sen. John McCain’s wife, a three-acre spread in Phoenix, Ariz., is in default and headed to the foreclosure auction block on Aug. 15, 2011, according to The Arizona Republic.

It’s currently listed for $3 million in a short sale situation, which is $200,000 less than the new owner, an investor, paid the McCain’s for it back in 2006. However, the investor apparently sunk more money into the mansion, running the final bill up to $4.5 million.

The new renovations covered several upgrades, including an additional 4,000 sq. ft. of space. The home, which is where the McCain’s raised their children, boasts 11 bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, a “chef’s kitchen” and several outdoor bars, among other luxurious amenities.

McCain, who made an unsuccessful bid for President of the United States in 2008, moved to a penthouse “near 24th Street and Camelback Road” shortly before unloading their family home years ago. There is no telling if the couple would look to buy it back rather than see it go through the auction process.

Stay tuned.