Thanks for all the comments. I've gone back and forth on this decision so many times and looks like I'll go back and forth maybe another couple more times before deciding. Good thing is I have time to weigh the options. So the driving factors behind getting a lawn tractor are dealing with leaves in the fall and needing to cut the lawn more often during the growing season. I do own a regular mower, a leaf blower, and a weedwacker. I've tried many things to deal with these leaves. I've tried raking and bagging, leaf blowing and bagging, leaf blower mulching and bagging, mower mulching and bagging. In the end I, and sometimes my son too, end up being out there for several hours on the weekends cleaning up leaves during the fall. Things I've ruled out: so-called standalone leaf shredding machines, mowing the lawn twice (once to mulch up everything real small, and another pass to pick them up. I think my poor push behind would get bogged down trying to mulch all those leaves). I've decided to start a compost pile with my mulched leaves so maybe that will help by eliminating the bagging. I stopped by one of our local dealers the other day. One of the Toro mulching mowers (twin blades) was selling for $1000 I believe it was. Maybe a walk behind mulching mower would do better than what I currently have, not sure how much better though. Mine for the most part just throws the leaves in the bag with very little mulching. I saw the Honda HRX (about $700) where supposedly you can barely open the bagging opening and it will mulch up the leaves until small enough to pass through to the bag. It's not clear to me how effective this would be though and I have a feeling both these mowers would bog down with all those leaves under the deck. Part of my thought process was that instead of buying a quality new push mower, I could add some money to that and get a quality used tractor. Maybe I should look into how much it would cost for a lawn service to do my lawn in the fall. I do mulch the leaves into the lawn early in the season but it's not long after that that is no longer viable. As for the lawn tractor and the leaves, after some more reading, I concede the point about needing to empty bags just like you would with the push mower. Although, the tractor bags do hold more than the push mower bags. I see some people have opted to mulch the leaves and use a lawn sweeper in tow for pickup. Reason is the sweeper can hold much more and dumped easily. As far as cutting the grass more often, some have suggested that a push mower might be just as fast if not faster than the tractor. I don't know. A couple of my neighbors (tractor owners) lots are about the same as mine and I start mowing before them and they finish before me. It takes me 1 hr 15 mins walking pace. Doesn't take them more than 45. Actually one of my neighbors does 2 yards in about the time it takes me to do mine. He does have one of those Deeres with the foot pedals so maybe that helps. If I do go this route that may be the way to go. As for the leaves, one of my neighbor uses a bagger and it goes relative quickly. Although he doesn't have the leaf volume that I do and he goes over it about twice a week. He doesn't allow it to accumulate. My other neighbor goes the old fashioned route (rake, leaf blower, bag). He's got 5 huge trees that are all by his property line in the front so the area he has to cover is small. Plus much of those leaves fall on the road and just get blown into my lawn, increasing my leaf volume considerably. As far as buying used, if I go that route, maybe I can pay a lawn/garden tractor mechanic for his time to check it out for me. Same as you would for a used car purchase.

Financially secure - I don't think it's being a gold digger, but realistic, especially as you get older. I met my (then) FH when I was 39; at the time that I met him, I also met a guy who said that he did "yard work" when I asked him what he did for a living. *Yard Work!* I mean - I imagined him in his high school letter jacket, trundling his lawn mower from house to house - at the age of 40! Maybe I read too much into it, but that sounded neither mature nor financially secure. Now I'm married to dh; of course, I married him for reasons other than the fact that he is financially secure. But it means a lot to know that although we will never be wealthy, we will be able to retire in comfort in another decade or so.

In response to Eve72's post, the Kraus 16-gauge stainless steel sinks do not rust. When rust appears on stainless steel it is because something external is on the stainless steel's surface that is rusting. You can use Barkeepers Friend to remove it. Let's clear up the ignorant statement about stainless steel sinks rusting. ANY stainless steel sink can show rust if steel wool like Brillo or other steel wool pads are used on it. I repeat, ANY brand of stainless steel sink, not just Kraus. When you see rust from steel wool, it's from the iron residue left by the steel wool on top of the stainless steel. I'll quote from Franke's website: Steel wool or metal scouring pads should never be used to clean your sink as they will leave a residue of small iron particles. They may not be readily visible, but they will lead to rusting and corrosion of the sink. As to Kraus faucets, I don't have direct experience, but in many years on this forum, I have not seen complaints here from Kraus faucet owners. I have seen Live_Wire_Oak's alarmist posts on this, but no one has ever stepped up in response and said "yes, I have a Kraus faucet which failed". I have seen many posts over the years about faucets failing, and they were often American-name faucets bought at HD. If anyone is worried about Chinese faucets, they better check their own Kohlers, Danzes, and Moens, many of which are made in China. I advise the OP to check out reviews of Kraus products on overstock, as there are quite a lot on that website. Here is a link that might be useful: Kraus Faucets on Overstock

mat2cam , First of all, welcome to GardenWeb if you're new! Secondly, glad to see someone posting from beautiful Charlotte! My wife and I grew up there and lived there up until 2011, and we miss it dearly. When we bought our house in Huntersville, I inherited a lawn that resembled your description exactly - the builder only cared about making sure the yard had "green stuff" growing, and didn't care if that meant grass or weeds. I also did not have a built in irrigation system. If I had it to do all over again, I would definitely have "nuked" the yard with Roundup (probably over two applications) and either brought in some decent sod or re-seeded. Here are some grass options and the pros/cons for the Charlotte region: 1. Fescue Pros: Can be maintained to look good year-round; can be found in seed and sod varieties; will have a higher percentage of matching what your neighbors probably have (if a newer neighborhood). Big Bonus: Fescue will do fine in shade, so it will be great for that shaded side yard you mentioned. Cons: Maintenance in the summer-time can be expensive and bothersome. Fescue requires A LOT of water during those hot Charlotte summers, especially if you have a newer house that has no shade trees to help protect it. Additionally, trying to sow it now could prove to be difficult, since I've read that it's best to put new Fescue in after the summer months (Sept/Oct). 2. Bermuda Pros: Once established, it is very hard to kill. It will spread very fast and loves all the sun it can get. Additionally, the newer Bermuda hybrid varieties are very drought resistant, which would be a big bonus for someone without an irrigation system. One more bonus: when the summer heat is really beating down, your neighbors' Fescue will be suffering, but your Bermuda will be thriving. Chances are, some of what you are seeing as "weeds", will actually be Bermuda grass that just isn't matching the Fescue. Cons: It will turn brown beginning around early October and not come back until late March; so your yard will appear dormant while your neighbors Fescue will be green and lush. Additionally, once introduced, it can be very difficult to get rid of it. 3. Centipede My father still lives in Charlotte and is obsessed with grass. He transplanted his entire yard with sprigs of Centipede that he found in various places in eastern NC. His yard looks outstanding in the summer time! It requires very little water, does not grow as fast as other grass types in the summer time (maintenance is much less for him), and has a unique shade of green that the rest of your neighborhood will find intriguing. (I'd only choose this option if you treat your lawn as a hobby or a project; if you're wanting to 'fix' your yard and move on to other projects, Options 1 or 2 may be best) One last note: Being in Charlotte, you can find all of the organic alternatives that dchall mentions in the less urban areas... so depending on where you are, that'd be Gaston County, near Carowinds, even Lake Norman where there are still some feed/grain stores around. Basically, the opposite direction of Uptown, where they will charge you $100 for a bag of fertilizer. Best of luck and we wish you the best!