Some homeowners assume that a riding lawnmower is meant for larger properties with lots of grass to cut and that it may be a waste of money to invest in such a mower when you have a smaller property. However, a riding mower can be a good choice for your yard for a number of reasons, and not just because they cut grass more quickly than a walk-behind mower. Note when a riding mower can be the right investment for your property, no matter its size.

Hills and valley

A riding mower can keep you safer when you need to run your mower over hills and valleys; when you use a walk-behind mower on uneven ground, you may be more prone to slipping and sliding under the mower or having it get away from you. A riding mower keeps you safely above the body of the mower itself, and its heavier weight can keep it more secure on uneven ground, so it's less likely to slide down any hills.

Towing

Even in a small yard, you may have lots of flowerbeds, landscaping trees, and the like; to maintain these, you may need to move heavy bags of feed, fertilizer, and mulch from a garage or shed to the far end of your property. A small tractor mower with a ball hitch on the back can tow a trailer, making it easier for you to manage these heavy items. That towing tractor can also pull a seed spreader, tiller, and other such pieces of equipment that make it easier for you to maintain your lawn, garden, flowerbeds, and other landscaping features.

Patchy, rough grass

Not all lawns have soft, lush grass; some residential properties will have patchy, rough grass that is full of weeds, crabgrass, and the like. Your property may also be somewhat rural, even if it's small, so you may have to cut rougher things like hay.

These types of lawns can be very difficult to cut with a walk-behind mower, as these mowers usually have less cutting power than a riding mower. You may also have more control over the height of the blades with a riding mower, so you can move them up when going over very rough and uneven patches to avoid wearing down the motor of the mower or damaging the blades. A riding mower with twin blades can also make quicker work of cutting these types of grasses, so you don't need to run your push mower over the lawn again and again.