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Practical Tips on Home Buying from 5 Awesome Movies

Without a doubt, our favorite movies are the ones we can relate to in one way or another. And whether you're buying a home or starting your house search, it’s a good thing to know that there are movies you can definitely relate to. A lot of movies touch on real estate, even if they do so subtly or as a side plot.

Vintage cinema marquee promoting practical home-buying tips from five movies.

Here we have selected five movies whose little lessons could go a long way in your journey to finding your dream home:

1. The Burbs (1989)

The 'Burbs poster showing a man in a long coat on a suburban street.

Starring: Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher

Synopsis: This comedy horror-thriller film depicts an overstressed suburbanite and his fellow neighbors who have suspicions about the new family on the block who bought a house under strange circumstances. They are convinced that their new eccentric neighbors are part of a murderous Satanic cult.

Home-buying inspiration

Handy lesson: Introduce yourself to your neighbors BEFORE buying your home!

2. The Money Pit (1986)

The Money Pit movie poster

Starring: Tom Hanks, Shelley Long

Synopsis: This film focuses on a young couple who moves into a huge and expensive house, which turned out to be a hopelessly dilapidated property. They decided to buy it after being seduced by the promise of a bargain home and by the seller's sob story and insistence.

Idea light bulb icon

Handy lesson: Make sure your home inspection is thorough! Like really, really thorough!

3. Beetlejuice (1988)

French Beetlejuice poster with Michael Keaton and other characters posed around a miniature house.

Starring: Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin

Synopsis: Beetlejuice is a comedy-fantasy film that revolves around the spirits of a deceased young couple who are haunting their former home, only to find out that the home has new inhabitants. They hired a malicious ghost to scare them and drive them out.

Home-buying ideas

Handy lesson: Always double check that the former residents have actually moved out!

4. Back to the Future (1985)

Back to the Future

Starring: Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd

Synopsis: A teenage high school student accidentally traveled back in time through the time-traveling machine DeLorean, which was invented by an eccentric scientist who's also a close friend.

Heart-shaped light bulb

Handy lesson: Consider how the value of your home changes as your neighborhood changes, especially if you break the time-continuum!

5. Up (2009)

Illustration of an elderly man and boy flying with a large bird beneath the word UP.

Starring: Edward Asner and Jordan Nagai

Synopsis: This heartwarming animated film centers on a 78-year-old widower who travels to Paradise Falls in South America in his home equipped with balloons to complete a promise made to his late wife. However, a young “Wilderness Explorer” inadvertently became a stowaway when he visited the elderly's home to earn his final merit badge.

Home-buying inspiration

Handy lesson: Love your old home, but need to move? Consider moving the actual house!

If you're planning to buy a home in the near future, don’t forget to add these movies to your binge-watch list this holiday season!

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With over 35 years of combined local experience, the Noah Bailey Group provides the trusted, personalized real estate expertise you need to guide you through every step of your buying, selling, or investing journey.

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