Just want to make sure I’m not getting ripped off!

Everything on an old house can be upgraded....the hardest thing to do frankly is the insulation in the walls, which needs all the drywall/plaster ripped off to install.

You could develop a deep and trusting relationship with a lender only to find they sold your loan to an out-of-state investor who could give a rip about you.Private/Hard Money lending has exploded.

Is there any way I can make it look new and updated without ripping it all out? 

Also, the electrical had been a mess and it was easier to just rip it out and start over.  

If that’s your end goal then I’d recommend ripping the bandaid off right from the start.

the hedges would accidentally rip out the whole hedge or even if they could do only "half" a hedge, the hedge might die due to the sudden loss of 50% of itself.Other than to manually trim 50% of the hedge without touching the roots (sounds expensive), is there a near maintenance-free way to approach this?

they will NEVER say what they will pay.. they want you to say what you want up front in the hopes that your stupid have no clue and they will rip a fat deal.. ( you know this is true LOL)  So on this house in Balt city its rented 1000 a month worth at least 70 to 80k ..

The hard part is finding someone that will do it with out ripping you off. 

Ripped sheetrock and cleaned suspect areas.