Johnsdad,
I bought a Howse 5' cutter about 7 years ago and started abusing it right away. It wasn't intentional abuse, but I was clearing raw, native, hilly, rocky, and bumpy land. My neighbor and I joked about our "rock cutters" because we were constantly hitting soft limestone rocks the size of footballs. To make a along story short, after 5 years, I had some failure of welds on the frame and last year the splined collar in the stump jumper gave up and now the shaft from the gearbox just spins inside the worn out spline. I checked with the dealer who sold me the cutter and he said he could order all the repair parts I need for about $100. I haven't got the parts yet because I bought another cutter from TSC. I think the Howse is on par with the red King Kutter sold by TSC. Also, I cannot imagine doing the kinds of things I did with this inexpensive cutter if I had spent the big bucks for a Bush Hog brand.
Based on what you have planned, I think the Howse might be a cost-effective choice.
JimI