Ben Fry purchased his first house seven years ago while studying real estate at the University of Cincinnati. Now 26, he’s flipped about 15 properties all around the city, focusing on providing higher quality housing stock for local homeowners.
That first house was listed at $20,000. Fry was able to purchase the property in Price Hill for just $6,000 and flipped it for a return on his investment. After purchasing a second property in Price Hill — a storefront with three apartments above — investors started coming to him rather than Fry having to seek them out.
“With redevelopment, home prices and property taxes increase, adding value to the neighborhood,” Fry says.
His company,
Fry Holdings LLC, is currently working on a condo redevelopment off of Sycamore Street in Over-the-Rhine. It’s Fry’s largest project to-date and when finished in March will feature two two-story condos with city views.
He also recently purchased two houses in Northside, one on Beech Hill Avenue and the other on Fergus Street. Last week, another of Fry’s houses, this one on Mad Anthony, was listed for sale at $139,900.
“I really like Northside because of the architecture, design and home prices,” Fry says. “It’s a neighborhood where you can really do some different things and still have the home fit in with its surroundings.”
The Beech Hill house is shotgun-style and only 14 feet from wall to wall. It didn’t leave Fry a lot of space, and he’s planning to build an addition on the back of the house to create more space.
The house on Fergus is currently a two-family dwelling but will become a single-family residence after an eight-week renovation. Fry plans to create a vaulted ceiling on the first floor with stairs leading up to a loft.
Fry says he’s been in talks with TV producers about hosting a series that follows one of his renovation projects from start to finish.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.