Thanks for all the advise on which tractor to purchase! Really guys? I thought this was the forum to get advise on buying a compact tractor but I guess I was wrong! All I got was prices on CUT's that I WASN'T looking at in regions that I'm not in. I joined this forum to get information on which tractor to purchase, looking for opinions from owners of these two tractors but got a bunch of this and that which was NOT helpful at all. PLEASE stay on topic!
Really? As the OP, you need to be involved in the discussion, otherwise you get whatever you get. I'm not sure what else you're looking for either, as stated, you got lots of advice. I can't imagine to many people own two nearly identical tractors from different manufactures so I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for somebody to chime in who can give you a side by side comparison.
So here's some different advice for you. Both machines suck for digging footings, just the nature of the beast. I've owned a BH, I enjoyed it and it was useful, but I wasn't trying to make a living with it. You need a mini-ex if you're digging lots of footings.
You're not going to save any time switching from a ZTR to a 6' rear finishing mower, in fact, I'll bet you double it. Nothing cuts faster than a ZTR unless you're cutting a mountain side or very rough terrain. Both these machines will make lousy lawn mowers anyway, they're both what a tractor should be IMHO, big and heavy, built with a lot of steel. I'll only drive mine over my septic system in the dead of winter and the frost line is over 4' in my area. When it's wet in the spring, my tractor makes mud and ruts, same if we get a lot of rain. My ZTR floats over the lawn and only makes a little bit of a mess when I start to have to much fun and make my turns way to fast.
If you have any questions, ask, get involved with your own thread, but don't ***** at us when we chat amongst ourselves if you disappear.