Which famous TV and film characters could actually afford to pay off their homes? (Hint: not many…)
Have you ever been watching one of your favourite shows on television, be it stream or free-to-air, and wondered how in the hell some of the characters could afford to live the way they do? How do the close-knit group of quasi-employed Friends come up with rent every month for their sizey apartments in the heart of New York? Or how do the legal upstarts in How To Get Away With Murder get away with such expensive wardrobes while each living alone and not holding jobs? And don’t get us started on big families who live in huge houses but whose mortgage accounts we hardly ever see… Yes, even on Ramsay Street equity can be exy.
One clever company has done some number-crunching to work out which characters from TV and film would actually be able to pay off their homes in their lifetime. And for those who couldn’t, what type of pay rise would they need to do so?
Using real estate data and salary estimates, financial comparison site Canstar canvassed a bunch of much-loved classics such as The Brady Bunch and Neighbours, right through to contemporary gems such as Ozark, Stranger Things and You, to see how much money main characters would need to put aside for monthly payments on their mortgage. The site’s estimates are based on being able to save a 20% home loan deposit with a repayment term of 30 years, as well as some other assumptions.
To see if you have a shot at paying off these famous houses, simply key in your salary and – hey presto – you’ll see what it would cost you per month and year to own 4616 Melrose Place, West Hollywood. And don’t be embarrassed – not a lot of folks receive the over-the-top salary Dr Michael Mancini earned. I, for one, would have to wait 30 years to pay off an apartment on Melrose Place while Mancini would do it in five.
If Melrose ain’t your ‘hood, then try seeing what a humble plot of land and home nestled above the Upside Down might cost you. There’s a nifty description and backstory to each of the properties, too, such as this info about the Byers home in Stranger Things:
“Joyce Byers’ house is a three-bedroom bungalow featuring a living room, kitchen, bathroom, hallway and porch, as well as a shed and dog house. The real house, where some of the show’s most pivotal scenes were filmed, isn’t in Indiana at all, but around 600 miles (almost 1,000km) south of the State in Fayetteville, Georgia – 149 Coastline Road, to be precise. Zillow.com estimates its worth at US$201,588, as of March 2019.”
Fun and games aside, if you’re looking for the right home loan for your next move, check out the other pages on the Canstar website. As Australia’s biggest financial comparison site, the 25-year-old company’s motivation is to help consumers confidently find the right product for them. So whether you’re looking to compare home loans, or even superannuation, car insurance, health insurance or life insurance, they can help.
Canstar can even provide research to other third parties including banks, insurers, funds managers and other media, along with government bodies such as the Reserve Bank.
And that saves you a lot of financial fussing about.
Antonino Tati
To see if you have a shot at paying off some famous properties go to www.canstar.com.au.
CREAM MAGAZINE 
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