I don't have any firsthand experience, but you might benefit from the experience of one of my neighbors, also with a 1-acre lot. He decided to by a Timecutter Z to replace his old Yazoo RER. I saw it the day he got it, in the back of his pickup truck. Next time I saw him mowing, however, he was back on the old Yazoo. When I asked him about it, he said he got frustrated with the ZTR and took it back because he had a hard time maneuvering in part of his yard and got stuck. If your yard is free of obstructions, this might not be an issue for you, however. Don't know why, but in our neighborhood of 37 houses on acre lots out in the country, there are no ZTRs. John

If you want a 'super insulated' home what about SIPs?? osb sandwiches foam, minimal loss of ins value due to little use of framing members, and imo the best building system to date. Granted you are not in my climate, but I met a friend here years ago who lived in Michigan, He was a SIPs builder and it performed as well there as here, so I feel comfortable in recommending it to you as well. SIPs panels are being used in our hurricane recovery areas, as prefered systems due to high wind requirements, strength and the energy efficiency savings. With SIPs as well as ICF as Rbadger noted, adhering to load calculations is a must for not only an efficient home, but a healthy one. Less tonnage of hvac is one benefit with these better building systems. Don't expect the hvac industry to provide you a 'free' load calc. The more tons of hvac they can sell you the more their profit. And sadly, many companies either don't use the proper input values .. ie SIP or ICF true values & air leakage reduction values, and the load calc is not 'true'. * reread this when you see the same symbol below... Rbadger does unbiased load calcs, and can also do a duct design & layout..( I think he does the latter two..). Unbiased is the key word in that statement. You should at some point 'talk' with him. There may be a hvac co in your area that does the true calcs. But be prepared to shop around. With SIPs in my area we are achieving 750 sq ft per ton..although I hate rule of thumb sizing,,it is a term you will hear alot as you shop hvac co's. Rule of thumb is at best a guess. * see above For fast quotes- many hvac co's use them..around here the ones who haven't chosen educate themselves use 400 to 500 sq ft per ton. Steer away from these hvac co's. Be prepared to shop. Also SIPs panels come in different insulation values, this differece is due to thickness of foam 4", 6" and possibly 8". panels come as blanks, meaning that window and door openings are not cut, or precut, but there is little room for error in precuts. If this is a system you may be interested in ...I'll email the retired SIPs builder and ask him to chime in. Windows..they can be trimmed out, additional cost, but for me it is not the way it looks that is as important at this stage. Buying a better window is important. The windows and doors are the weak spot of any wall. Look for a NFRC sticker on the window brands that you are shopping. NFRC is an independent (see how I keep comming back to an independent source of info..beware of sites selling you products) company that tests & rates all windows worth buying. You'll find that the common numbers to shop for are on this sticker..Solar Heat Gain Coefficients (SHGC) and U-factors. .4 SHGC or LESS is the best buy, invest in Low e glass as it will keep heat in the house in the cold months. I see a lot of .35 SHGC windows around here, of course the Low e install is in my climate, your Low e will be located on a different glass surface as per your climate. The important thing is to buy a window that will not transfer heat or cold from the outside to the inside. Metal windows condensate and cause a LOT of moisture/mold issues that take years to show the total depth of damage. The only way that metal windows don't have some degree of condensation is if they have a wood frame to the interior. Metal transfers heat/cold and is a good conductor..wood is a poor conductor. Oberon is the window expert here that is happy to share his expertiese & years of experience. Best of luck and enjoy your learning experience. Keep in mind the house as a system..not individual componets. Everything has to work together, not against each other to achieve a healthy house.

Hi Muddbelly, Sorry to hijack here saphire, but Dave - where do you think rates will be after those 2-3 years (say late 2009)? Well... while my crystal ball is a little foggy, and I let the insurance on it lapse..... I believe that mortgage interest rates are going to remain flat, within a range of roughly 1/2% of where they are today, for a long, long time. If you have 5% for another 28 months, I would recommend leaving that alone, and making hay while the sun shines by aggressively stuffing every additional discretionary dollar you can into your tax-deferred and tax-free retirement vehicles. Hi Cmarlin, (I think you jumped threads (this is from elsewhere, no?...) but I'll answer here nonetheless.) I am also considering buying a 4 unit bldg (not owner occupied) I also do not have verifiable income. I live on investments, so there is a history, but I do not have much income on my tax returns. OK, you need to qualify using a special program process called "Self-Employed Investor, Stated Income." Does the lender look at the bldg as they do on larger multi-family, will the rate be better if I do not go above a four unit as opposed to a larger mix. Yes... both rates and terms are preferential at a 4-unit level than at 5+ units. I have good Ficos and about 50% down. Will I have a problem getting a mortgage? You shouldn't... at 50% down it ought to fly through OK. Cheers, Dave Donhoff Strategic Equity & Mortgage Planner

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