Why Buying and Storing Gold at Home is Not a Great Idea
Gold serves as a safe haven and is not designed to generate income; however, owning physical bullion entails certain responsibilities related to storage and insurance coverage.
Store precious metals at home can be cost-effective, yet offers limited protection from damage or theft. Here are a few reasons to steer clear:
A vault offers your assets unparalleled protection. Offering 24/7 physical access and typically providing insurance protection for investments, vaults provide peace of mind.
Theft
Theft can be an enormous issue for those storing gold at home. Unfortunately, homeowners insurance often does not cover collectible coins fully and many do not have enough resources available to them to invest in security systems that would help deter theft.
People come up with creative ways of hiding their bullion. Baking it into cake, placing it in a fish tank or even burying it outside your home are all viable strategies; however, once word gets out that your residence contains gold reserves, criminal elements are more likely to target it for theft.
Some investors opt to store their precious metals in bank vaults as this offers some protection; however, this method also requires expensive insurance and could be limited by bank hours and potential failure.
Damage
People can get creative when storing gold at home. Since neither gold nor silver corrodes, some store their precious metals in salt water tanks or fish tanks – an easy access method that also exposes your valuable metals to potential damage that could diminish their value.
Other storage methods can create dust build-up, making it harder for you to access at a moment’s notice. Furthermore, keeping gold hidden away in an inexpensive tin safe where it may be vulnerable to theft is also not advised.
Third-party storage offers superior accessibility, security and insurance than home storage options. Specialized bullion vaults also provide high-end protection with third-party auditing reports available as an added benefit.
Insurance
Many investors purchase gold as an asset diversifier; however, its physical weight makes it cumbersome to store. Furthermore, some homeowners insurance policies do not cover gold stored within the home.
Some investors choose a discreet floor safe that’s secure but expensive, which may require a concrete foundation – making this impractical for renters.
Privacy and security should always be top priorities when storing bullion at home, especially when only you and one confidant know it is there. Once word gets out that your bullion exists at home, thieves could easily make off with it or worse: your home could even be subject to fire damage or natural disaster.
Taxes
Gold bullion investment can offer significant returns, including protecting wealth during economic uncertainty. But keeping precious metals stored at home poses risks that are not covered by insurance policies.
One major risk when buying gold and storing it at home is exposure to natural disasters like fires, floods and tornadoes – without proper safeguards, your investment can quickly vanish in minutes!
As well, allowing anyone other than yourself and one trusted confidant access to your gold storage may pose a security risk, since anyone gaining entry would have access to sell off investments to make money off you without your knowledge – something most don’t wish for themselves.
Liquidity
Gold has long been considered an asset that provides protection during times of economic instability, acting as both an inflation hedge and desirable diversifier of portfolios.
However, gold prices are affected by numerous factors that vary over time. One crucial aspect is liquidity – how easy it is to convert assets to cash – with cash considered the most liquid asset followed by stocks and bonds.
If you own physical gold coins and bullion, they must be safely stored somewhere. Unfortunately, that often incurs fees which eat into your investment over time. Furthermore, insurance premiums will have to be covered.
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