Individuals often opt to store their precious metals at home in order to reduce recurring storage and custodial fees.
Storing gold at home poses some risks. These include an increased chance of theft and no insurance coverage available to protect it.
Storage gold at home can make it very difficult to gain access when needed; this article will explore why purchasing and storing it at home may not be the best idea.
1. It’s Not Secure
Storing gold in your home requires an upfront investment in both a safe and insurance policy, as well as increased security risks that could prove costly or stressful should any precious metals go missing or be stolen.
Your gold stored on site also makes its location known to others – this includes bullion shop staff, credit card company/bank personnel (if paid using them) and even those responsible for installing or transporting the safe. Once someone knows about your gold supply they could easily make off with it!
One way to mitigate theft risks is by diversifying your storage plan. Many investors store some of their gold at home while also placing some in a vault or bank locker to deter criminals from targeting certain places. Furthermore, investors may use desiccant products like silica gel packets to reduce moisture in their environment that causes corrosion – helping prevent burglars from damaging or stealing these valuable investments.
2. It’s Hard to Sell
Gold storage in your own home may seem convenient, but this requires investing money and incurring security risks; additionally, most homeowner policies don’t adequately cover such purchases.
Once again, selling can be challenging when selling quickly; for instance, if a price surge occurs on Friday afternoon and you wish to take advantage of it quickly, going directly to a pawn shop or buyer could prove time consuming and inconvenient.
People sometimes try to sidestep this problem by hiding their bullion in an “old cookie jar,” for instance, or other creative places in their home, but burglars can quickly discover these treasures and it can become difficult to keep track of where it has been stashed over time – not to mention when selling time comes around and you must disclose its exact location to others.
3. It’s Not Insured
Household insurance will typically not cover gold stored at home unless it’s only in small quantities of jewelry; that could leave you facing an expensive bill to replace these precious metals.
Storage costs can also add up quickly – if you decide to store your bullion at home, investing in an secure safe can cost thousands. Most insurance providers do not cover stolen valuables or precious metals so this could be costly if stolen items go unclaimed.
Even if you store your bullion successfully at home, the likelihood is high that it will end up out of sight and unusable when needed. Individuals have often hidden their precious metals under old furniture or instruments only to later find they couldn’t locate it when needed. A wiser decision would be investing in a safe storage facility that offers regular audits of metals stored therein.
4. It’s Not Easy to Access
At home or in a vault, storing gold can be more complex. Access isn’t always as straightforward because at-home storage requires extra precautions to protect from theft as well as extra insurance policies to provide for its protection.
So for instance, you could hide precious metals behind a gypsum wall while simultaneously telling as few people as possible about your treasure trove (to avoid being robbed).
At home, holding physical gold can incur ongoing storage expenses like insurance and maintenance fees that can substantially diminish returns on the investment. Many investors instead prefer storing their gold with third-party facilities like banks or depository; those with proper tax filings may even use precious metals IRAs for tax-savings purposes.
