Wayne Manor, Monica’s apartment and Bag End: True cost of living in fictional homes is revealed

We've all enjoyed a fantasy about living in a TV or movie home - whether it's Harry Potter's Hogwarts or Monica's Manhattan apartment, the idea of moving in and living the dream is always appealing.

But it seldom occurs to anyone to consider exactly what it would cost to live in our fictional dream homes.

Luckily, home and contents insurance provider So-Sure has looked into for us - and it seems our best chance of affording some fantasy real estate lies in moving in with Bilbo Baggins at Bag End, with a rent and utilities cost of just £464.78 a month.

The most gasp-inducingly expensive property belongs to Iron Man himself, Tony Stark, whose modernist Malibu mansion would cost £2,367,280.58 a month just to rent and run.

It's followed by Wayne Manor from the Batman films (£2,221,369.26 per month) and Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv’s house in LA from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (£18,546.24 per month).

Here's the top ten - and what it would cost to rent and insure the properties each month. It turns out even the ever-budgeting Weasleys are forking out a fortune.

1 Tony Stark’s Mansion (Iron Man): £2,367,280

Tony Stark’s Malibu mansion is the most expensive fictional home. If you want to live the lifestyle of ‘genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist’, Tony Stark, the internet alone required to run his tech empire would cost £110,552 each month.

Property tax adds a rather hefty £54,602 to your monthly outgoings.

One of the biggest expenses is internet. If you’re looking to slip into the shoes of Iron Man himself, you’re going to need the fastest internet money can buy to run your own tech empire. A connection capable of speeds of 40 Gigabits per second would cost you roughly £110,552 per month.

All of this is dwarfed, however, by the cost of Iron Man’s contents insurance, which comes in at a whopping £2,123,418 per month – that represents 90% of his total monthly cost. But with an estimated £5 billion of suits alone, as well as an incredible collection of supercars, an arc reactor, an AI system and a private plane, Tony Stark has more than his fair share of high value items to insure.

2 Wayne Manor (Batman): £2,221,369

Bruce Wayne’s 42,500 square-foot country mansion is the second most expensive fictional home. With Gotham being based on New York City, if we imagined Wayne Manor, the Bat Cave and all its grounds were on the outskirts of Manhattan, rent alone would cost you £2,150,415, and the property itself would be valued at £430,663,200.

(In the movie, the house exterior was played by Wollaton Hall & Deer Park, Nottingham.)

Home insurance would be £1,666.67 per month, while contents insurance for Batman’s suit, weapons and wide variety of all-terrain vehicles would be £24,217.59.

You wouldn’t be living in Wayne Manor if you didn’t have a trusty butler by your side, and an estimate of their monthly wages would be around £9,038. That’s right, Alfred isn’t doing too badly for himself.

3 Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv’s Mansion (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air): £18,546

A home on Bristol Avenue in the Brentwood neighbourhood of L.A. with five bedrooms and five bathrooms is pretty luxurious.

There's also a pool if you fancy a swim, and plenty of room if you plan on having relatives to stay like Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv did.

Valued at £4,682,466, property tax doesn’t come cheap and would cost £2,820 a month.

Uncle Phil is an LA Superior Court Judge, and Aunt Viv is a retired doctor, but even they would have spent some time saving up for this iconic fictional home. On Uncle Phil’s salary alone (£126,698), the Banks family would struggle to cover the living costs.

Read more If Monica’s Apartment In “Friends” Was Real, It Would Have Cost A LOT

4 Carrie’s Apartment (Sex and the City): £9,902

Despite the fact that she's a freelance columnist who doesn't write very much, once she moved in with Big, Carrie’s apartment became a sizeable 4,000 square feet over five floors, featuring five bedrooms, three bathrooms and an enormous south-facing backyard.

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If you’re interested in jumping into the teetering shoes of Carrie Bradshaw and living a glamorous lifestyle on the Upper East Side, her apartment will cost you £9,902.75 a month. With an estimated value of around £431,643, property tax would cost a healthy £696 a month. On top of that, renters can expect to pay £105 for utilities, £44.84 for internet and £83.91 for home and contents insurance.

Though given all the Manolos in that walk-in wardrobe, maybe it should be more.

5 Monica’s Apartment (Friends): £6,157.92

Arguably one of the most famous sets of all time, Monica’s apartment in Friends would cost a pricey £6,157.92 a month. The two-bedroom home used by various characters from the TV show is now valued at £1,590,875 to buy and £3,253 to rent. This also makes property tax (£2,725 per month) rather steep.

Monica’s large apartment has two bedrooms, a kitchen and living area, and a shared bathroom. Rent is £3,253, with property tax making up most of the remaining outgoings.

For Monica of course, the bills would only have been utilities as she famously inherited it from her grandmother. As a struggling chef in New York City, she'd barely have been able to afford a coffee at Central Perk otherwise.

6 The Burrow (Harry Potter): £2,549

The Weasley's home, in Ottery St Catchpole, Devon has six bedrooms, a kitchen, living room and a garden.

The Burrow is held up largely by magic so is likely to need fixing up once the Weasleys move out. As a consequence it's estimated the rent would be around £2,000 a mont, plus tax and utilities.

The house needs a great deal of refurbishment, however, and there is a ghoul that lives in the attic which could bring the price down with careful negotiation.

Read more Sarah Jessica Parker visits Carrie's apartment as 'SATC' reboot filming begins

7 742 Evergreen Terrace (The Simpsons): £1,719

The iconic home of The Simpsons has four bedrooms, two family rooms, a bathroom, a kitchen and more.

Though they have lived there for 30 years, if they were to move on, it would be affordable for aspiring professionals. So not Homer, then.

The town and home are quintessential American middle class, and Evergreen Terrace also has some of the cheapest bills on the list. Utilities will cost £253, internet £45 and home and contents insurance £66.86. This four-bedroom house is the perfect family home, with plenty of space and a friendly community.

8 Bag End (Lord of the Rings): £464.78

Bag End, Bagshot Row, Hobbiton, is an unusual home or 'hobbit hole' with a round door, comprising of bedrooms, bathrooms, cellars, multiple pantries, wardrobes, kitchens and dining rooms.

This charming and bijou accommodation is the cheapest on the list. It would cost just £464.78 to live in this cosy bungalow in The Shire, and you wouldn’t be short on space either, with a whopping 4,500 square feet and multiple rooms to choose from.

Bag End is also known for its natural beauty. Couple that with the relaxed lifestyle of a hobbit that includes extravagant birthday parties and pipe smoking with wizards, and £464.78 per month looks like a seriously good deal.

Find out more: So-Sure

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