Couple spends nearly $55,000 on a $20,000 auction house. 8 months later, they say it’s ‘worth 10 times’ the purchase price

Thomas and Kristin Fletcher took a gamble on a house they had never seen from the inside. They paid $20,000 for the Michigan property at a tax auction, only to discover six refrigerators filled with food that had been sitting without power for two years and piles of garbage waiting to be cleared.

It was hardly the move-in-ready home most buyers hope for. But the couple saw a chance to turn a neglected property into something valuable, even as they prepared to welcome a baby and worked with a limited renovation budget.

Eight months of hard work later, the house had a new life as a rental property. The Fletchers told People that it is now worth 10 times what they originally paid for it.

What the couple found inside their $20,000 auction house

The Fletchers bought the two acre property in August 2024. Before the auction, they had seen only a short description and a few photographs. They knew the house had no siding and that getting to the front door would be difficult but they could not inspect the interior before making their purchase.

The mess inside was waiting for them when they finally got access. Along with the six refrigerators and their long-unpowered contents, there was plenty of garbage to remove.

Still, the house had some welcome surprises. The utilities worked, the structural components were in good shape and there was no mold, the couple told People.

Those discoveries gave them a reason to press ahead. The house needed plenty of attention, but it was not the disaster they might have feared after seeing the interior.

A nearly $35,000 renovation became a hands-on family project

The couple initially hoped to keep renovation costs around $25,000. The work eventually cost just under $35,000, taking their combined purchase and renovation investment to just under $55,000.

Hiring contractors would have pushed the project beyond their budget, so Thomas, also known as Fletch, took on most of the work himself. Kristin said, “Fletch did everything on his own. From the roof to the windows to the walls, to the floors, to the doors, room by room, he turned this s---hole into something beautiful,” as quoted by People.

The renovation was happening alongside major changes in their personal lives. Kristin was pregnant when the work began and caring for their newborn became part of the challenge as the project continued through a Michigan winter.

About four months into the renovation, the family moved into the house. Living there meant they no longer had to make daily trips back & forth and could spend more time together. But they later moved out so Thomas could finish the remaining work, including the landscaping and final touches.

The couple also furnished and decorated the house using a mix of secondhand finds and new purchases.

The renovated house became The Comeback Cabin

By May 2025, the property had become The Comeback Cabin, the couple’s rental business. Its first guests arrived in August 2025.

What began as an uncertain auction purchase had become a furnished rental after months of work, with Thomas handling most of the renovation himself.

The Fletchers said, “[The Comeback Cabin] is now worth 10 times what we originally paid for it,” adding, “It was 100% worth it, and that’s why we’re doing it again,” as quoted by People.

There is an important difference between that reported value and money actually made from the property. The couple hasn't sold the house, and the estimated value does not reveal their profit. They spent just under $55,000 on the purchase and renovation, before accounting for any other expenses or rental income.

However, the project has given them a second property to work on.

Their next auction house cost just $8,500

The Fletchers have since bought another fixer-upper at auction, this time for $8,500, and are preparing for a new renovation.

Their first project required them to take a chance on a home they could not inspect before buying it, work within a tight budget and put in months of hands-on effort. The result is now a rental property that they say is worth far more than their original purchase price.

The experience has not put them off buying another house that needs work. Instead, they are taking on a second project, this time with the lessons from The Comeback Cabin behind them.