It is a beautiful new home, large backyard in a nice neighborhood in wine country.

I agree with the peanut butter on the old school wooden Victor mouse traps.

You'd have to prove to me, too, that this is not the case here.The same would apply to a raw wooden chair leg.

CA wine country.the first thing they told me is they dont buy wood structures ONLY concrete :)  they invest for the long haul.. and then the land they had was in prime SF bay area locations that were uber valuable N.

When we sent the plumber out to fix the problem he said he couldn't touch the water heater because the wooden stand and the surrounding drywall was covered in mold.

Hi Pal,Why not you sleep in the shed after fixing it up, and rent out the more desirable house for more money.You would essentially be living free, just you, your microwave and a mini fridge, use a blue porta-potty and shower down at the gym, get water from the house spigot out back.Then you would not even have to fix it up much, just enough to keep the spiders out.How much more a whole house would rent for vs a shed, and maybe put up a wooden privacy fence, so the renters would not see you coming and going.Tell them you are eccentric, or just like communing with nature.Good Luck!

My wife and I moved north of SF about an hour to wine country (love it) and I have sold both my bars in SF and once I sell my condo (which my wife and I lived in for 12 plus years) I will be completely out. 

It usually is a bag with a pool towel, bottle/wine opener, and a cup.

For growing fruit and wine grapes you have to go a few miles away to a lower elevation.

They're all steel except for the wooden plywood floors so I'm not thinking anyone would have a fire hazard issue with them.