Reply To: I started a blog in 2015 before Google had their own Material Design website. It hit 100k/mo, I sold it, the buyer vanished. I just got the domain back.

[spoonfulofvegemite]

When you sold the site on Flippa, did you sell the domain only, or did you sell it as a complete website? If you sold it as a website, even though the domain registration lapsed and you legally own the domain, the content and website design still belongs to the person who bought it from you. May be worth getting legal advice before relaunching the site if that is the case.