There is nothing wrong with doing it in halves, especially if you don't have a sprinkler system and need to water yourself. Plus, a lot can be learned from experience for when it comes time to do the "money" side.

If there are tree roots to dig out, you might want to hire a landscaper to dig those out. If it is a small area they will use a crew. For larger areas they will use a tractor with a box blade and ripper tines to dig it all out quickly.

Fall is the time to put the seed down, so you have the rest of summer to plan this.

Thanks for the input. I know the recommendation on here is to spray your lawn with Roundup twice in order to kill the grass but with the recent Monsanto news, is there any other way to do it (other than renting a bobcat and digging it up)? I'm ok with spraying Roundup hardscape in my fire pit but I'm not sure I want to spray it on my entire lawn and have my daughter running around after the new grass grows.

What Monsanto news are you talking about? There has been anti Round Up Monsanto news since about the late 1950s. I'm not a huge fan of herbicides in general, but there is no other product like glyphosate for killing stuff out.

I wouldn't think Roundup would be an issue after the new lawn comes in. I think if you want to do it right, herbicides are unavoidable. I consider Roundup and Tenacity as manditory.