MS wrote:
1) This particular fan has lights attached, but there is only one
simple on/off switch for the fan/light.

2) The front half of the house loses power when the fan trips the
breaker. (It is only one breaker which trips)

3) I'm not quite sure how big the breaker is. I'll have to check.

The front HALF of the house???

Take stock of what exactly loses power when you turn on the fan. What
is running, then shuts off?

The answer may be very simple: Your house is wired poorly, too much on
one circuit. You moved in recently. As you unpacked over the last
several months, you have set up rooms and electrical appliances,
increasing the load on this single circuit that serves HALF your
house. The fan worked when you moved in because you hadn't plugged in
all that other stuff. Now it's the straw that breaks the camel's back.

Each room should have its own circuit, and some rooms should have two.

I'm in a similar situation. The wiring is totally asinine. Many
circuits run from room to room to room, each serving 1-2 outlets or
fixtures in each room. To shut off power to a single room, I may as
well pull the main breaker because I have to shut off several circuits
to get all the outlets and fixtures.