Landscaping Expertise Wanted...Please

[Manco Snead]

Greetings,

Hoping to to get some advice from people with alot of landscaping experience/plant knowledge. Recently purchased OOS/Iowa duplex which had a long neglected lawn which resulted in woody stemmed plants growing. Those plants have been cut down, but thick woody stems remain. The one quote I have to make the stems go away permanently, from a seemingly knowledgeable landscaper, is $4500. This entails tilling 8" down 2 separate times, then reseeding for lawn to grow back. I'm looking to not pay this much.  Any ideas? Much thanks. Photos below.