I rented a sod cutter from home depot for about 50 bucks and tore up the entire yard. That took about 3 hours and probably another 4 or 5 hours to actually roll up the sod and dump it. I then tilled it pretty good to get it nice and even and get the dirt loose. I bought a bag of Scott's sun and shade mix seed for around 50 bucks to cover my 2,500 sq ft lawn. I installed a smart timer on my sprinklers which allowed the ground to stay wet 24/7 without even having to do anything and the grass started coming up in about a week and a half. Now all my neighbors ask me what my secret is.

I did have to go and walk the lawn every 2 or 3 days for about 2 months to take out any pesky weeds that was still trying to grow, but when the grass got thick enough, the weeds pretty much dissapeared. 2 years later, and I see maybe one weed a week. 

all it took was about $200 between renting the sod cutter, seed, and sprinkler timer and a weekends worth of work. If you're renting, maybe your landlord would consider covering the cost.