I have been doing this for a while now. I have learned that a small walk behind is priceless when it comes to residential lawns. I have an Encore Hydro pro 36 and it probably gets as much use a year as my 61" ZTR. You can pick one of these up used relatively cheap, and most of the time they don't need a whole lot to be a very reliable asset.

__________________
David Nelson
Ozarks Lawn Serv.& Landscaping