101 Best Movies for the First Time Home Buyer

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There's a lot of work to be done in your first house. But you also need to enjoy your new home. What better way to enjoy that new home than movie night? Here are the 101 best movies* for the first time home buyer:

1. Wizard of Oz (Sandra C) - there's no place like home!
2. The Money Pit - it's like a how-to on what not to buy
3. War of the Roses (Penni M) - leaving that first house has never been so difficult
4. Goonies - you wish you had buried treasure in that well
5. National Treasure - maybe you'll find a map in your fixer upper
6. Misery - don't go into someone else's home - no matter how big of a fan they claim to be
7. Swiss Family Robinson - it's a dream house for many of us from childhood
8. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (Zachary L) - your standard how-to for Christmas decorations
9. Jumanji - beware of the stuff left behind by the previous owner
10. Life as a House (film writer Chris Monks) - dramatic story about a father and son
11. Psycho - beware of your neighbors
12. It's a Wonderful Life (Brian Short) - classic story about life and home
13. Housesitter (Rachel T) - you better know who's in your house and why
14. The Strangers (Herb L) - vacation home terror - be careful where you spend your down time
15. Beetle Juice (Tracie B) - the battle for your first home may include the previous owners - from the grave
16. Funny Farm (Eric Ellison) - Chevy Chase buys a farm - enough said
17. Monster House (Jay Eakins, Teresa G) - is your house alive?
18. Are We Done Yet? (Jennifer L, Rhonda C) - home improvements made funny
19. Duplex (Laura S, Amanda W) - be careful buying a duplex with an odd neighbor
20. The Shining (Matt M) - the creepiest house ever, right Johnny?
21. Amittyville Horror (Jared H, Jennifer K) - you'll never want to sleep inside
22. Moving (Laura S) - relocation can be interesting
23. Home Alone (Jason K) - make sure you have everyone before vacations or moving day
24. Nightmare on Elm Street - just don't buy your actual house on Elm and you'll be fine
25. House at the End of the Street - make sure your new home is in the middle of your street
26. The Others (Jennifer M) - do you know your home's history? or yours?
27. Poltergeist (Holly W) - they're here....
28. Paranormal Activity - document everything...you never know...
29. Insidious - is the house haunted or is it you?
30. The Stepford Wives - do you really know your "perfect" neighbors?
31. Pleasantville - the prefect place to buy your first home (or is it?)
32. Dream House (Crystal W) - the perfect home may not be what you think
33. Cheaper by the Dozen - maybe it's your first house as a big family
34. Yours, Mine and Ours - blending families can be an adventure in a new home together
35. The Apartment - classic film on what not-to-do with your apartment or home
36. Up - don't use balloons to move your house unless you want a real adventure
37. Jaws - don't buy an ocean-front house for your first home
38. Rear Window - watch out for creepy neighbors
39. Titanic - no matter what goes wrong in your new home, at least you're not on a sinking boat
40. Deliverance - be careful where you buy that first home
41. Secrets in the Walls (Debbie H) - haunted house movies never get old, especially when it's your first house and you don't know about the middle of the night noises...
42. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - because it's #42
43. Mister Rogers' Neighborhood - okay it's not a movie, but watching these old episodes sure is fun
44. Along Came Polly (Laura S) - be careful who you invite into your first home
45. Night of the Living Dead - zombie home buyers - what more do you need?
46. Neighbors - John Belushi and Dan Akroyd in a cautionary tale about those who live closest to you
47. Toy Story - your first home may be where you have your first child and their first toys
48. Toy Story 2 - great sequel
49. Toy Story 3 - greater sequel-sequel
50. A Room with a View - who doesn't want a view
51. House on Haunted Hill - who wouldn't want to live with murderous ghosts?
52. Good Neighbor Sam - nice neighbors can be helpful when you're trying to scam an inheritance
53. Beauty and the Beast (Disney) - never go to the east wing
54. A Christmas Story - you know you want that lamp
55. Casper - a friendly ghost for your first house guest
56. Dinner at Eight - your dinner party could turn out revealing more than you want
57. When Harry Met Sally - your first home might be where your love story starts
58. The People Under the Stairs - don't open that door to the stairs, just walk around it
59. Neighborhood Watch - scary people can scare you
60. Ghost - memories of that first love and first home will stay with you forever
61. Closing Escrow (Erin T) - bidding wars can get messy
62. Breakfast at Tiffany's - an NYC apartment or your first home, falling in love with your neighbor can create drama
63. Son-in-Law - living in the country has its own adventures
64. Charlotte's Web 2006 - a talking spider is the only spider you probably want in your first house
65. The 'Burbs (Jerry Marshall) - an overstressed suburbanite is great to compare your stress to
66. Dinner for Schmucks - the perfect diner party tutorial
67. There Goes the Neighborhood - nothing says neighbor quite like friction and oddities
68. Little Miss Sunshine - dysfunctional family storyline at its best
69. House Party - be careful of who you ask to watch your house
70. Pluto's Housewarming - you can't go wrong with Mickey Mouse and Pluto
71. The Innocents (Rob C) - haunted house movie from way back
72. The Princess Bride - home is where the heart (and the princess) is
73. As Good as it Gets - a lesson in how to be a good neighbor 
74. Good Neighbors - exciting tale of neighbors and a serial killer
75. Neighbor - watch out for that mysterious vixen moving into your new neighborhood
76. Sweet Home Alabama - coming home has its perks and challenges
77. Take Me Home Tonight - after high school home is where your crush still is
78. Spanglish - Mike the Realtor® helps a family from Mexico
79. Where the Heart Is - touching story about life in Oklahoma
80. Winter's Bone - girl fights to keep home after deadbeat dad almost loses it
81. Big - how would you decorate your house as a kid in an adult's body?
82. Father of the Bride - host a wedding in your first home
83. Parenthood - all the fun of Steve Martin and is dysfunctional family under one roof
84. E.T. - would you welcome a Reese's Pieces loving alien into your home?
85. Jetson's: The Movie - homes of the future
86. Gremlins - be careful of the pets you bring into your first home
87. Cujo - once again watch out for those pets
88. Pet Semetary - don't bury your pets in an ancient burial ground (don't buy that first house near one, either)
89. A River Runs Through It - wouldn't that be an amazing place for a first home?
90. The Karate Kid - maybe the neighbor at your new home will be a karate expert and help you or your future kids become a champion
91. The Sandlot - backyard baseball, tree houses, friends - the perfect recipe for a first time home buyer to find long term happiness
92. Back to the Future - no matter what time period in which you find yourself, home is always home (just don't let you mom fall in love with you - that's just awkward)
93. Love Story - isn't this the beginning of yours?
94. Salesman - the tale of door-to-door salesmen in the 1960's - maybe it will soften your heart to solicitors at your new house (or maybe not)
95. Where the Wild Things Are - a great bedtime story as a kid, now the perfect bedtime movie in your first house
96. Ghostbusters - when your house is haunted, who you gonna call?
97. Fight Club - another how-to movie (how-to ruin your house with crazy meetings)
98. Peeping Tom - a horror classic from the UK, and lesson on keeping your drapes closed
99. Good Night, and Good Luck. - an entire generation grew up with Edward R Murrow in their living rooms - now it's your turn
100. 50 First Dates - a sweet story that really shows you what you're missing out on by not buying your first home in Hawaii
101. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - maybe that house has an armoire that opens up into Narnia...

We asked AmeriFirst Home Mortgage employees to help on this list. You'll see names next to some of the films they suggested too! Do you have ideas? Leave them in the comments below. Let's see if we can come with another 101 movies perfect for the first time home buyer.

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*Unless otheriwse noted we defer to the "original" films of the title. Also, these are in no particular order, except for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

(creative commons photo credit)