As a precious metals investor, it’s your job to properly store your gold and silver in the best manner possible. Otherwise you could end up leaving your investments vulnerable and unsafe. That’s the last thing you should have to worry about on a daily basis.
Most intelligent investors realize the value of Brinks and other gold storage facilities. But at the same time, some investors would prefer to store their gold and silver in the comfort of their own home. It’s your choice in the end, but one method is a heck of a lot safer than the other. As I’m sure you know, storing precious metals in a facility designed to protect your investment is the wise choice.
How do I know this? I know because there are certain pros and cons to storing gold and silver at home. In truth, you should focus on building your retirement portfolio with precious metals. You’d be much better off purchasing them metals within a gold IRA account. And part of retirement investing is choosing an inexpensive and trustworthy storage facility to protect your investments.
With that said, we’ll now take a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages of storing gold and silver at home. And we’ll also talk about a precious metals IRA and why we feel it’s such a good idea.
The Pros of Storing Silver and Gold at Home
Although it isn’t my favorite way to store precious metals, there are certain positives to storing them at home. To better understand how I feel about this topic, please consider the following positive aspects of this practice:
- It’s cheaper to store precious metals at home. By storing precious metals at home; you get to avoid paying a facility for the privilege. This may seem like a wise choice on the surface. But home gold storage can get pretty expensive as well. You may need to purchase a brand-new safe that could cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. By storing gold in a facility, you’ll have to pay a yearly fee based on the amount of gold you have. Or a flat fee if you’re doing business with the best broker. But home storage is still going to be an investment. You’d be foolish to put your gold coins in a box or suitcase and store them at the back of your closet. You may end up getting burglarized one day and the lucky crook could run off with your entire nest egg. Although it’s technically cheaper to store gold and silver at home, sleeping soundly at night is still a better investment.
- Offshore gold storage is way more expensive than storing gold at home. In fact, we only recommend this choice if you own $1 million or more in precious metals. But if you’re a serious investor, you know that precious metals aren’t safe on your property. Anyone could walk into your home at any time and steal your valuable investments. Buying a professional safe is an absolute must. And you have to invest in a safe that is impossible to crack. Otherwise the best thieves will end up getting their grubby little hands on your gold and silver anyway. I know storing gold at home is likely better than offshore storage. But it’s still far from the smart way to keep your precious metals investments safe. And it’s against the rules entirely if you plan on investing through a silver IRA.
- You have easy access to your precious metals when storing them at home. Some people feel that they need their investments close at hand. They never know when an emergency will strike and they’ll need to sell their investments for cash. If you’re in this vulnerable position, you may not want to invest in precious metals altogether. It sounds like you’re on the verge of personal economic struggles and selling your investments would be the only way out. Although it’s nice to have easy access to your investments, it certainly isn’t the smartest choice. Your children or other members of your family may accidentally stumble upon your metals and take them for their own. You could lose them in a fire. Or someone could accidentally throw them out during spring cleaning, or another crazy scenario. It’s always safest to pay a storage facility to keep your precious metals IRA investments secure and protected.
The Cons of Storing Silver and Gold at Home
There are reasons why you might want to store gold at home. There are even more negative reasons to avoid it that I’ve alluded to already. To help you better understand the negative side of home gold and silver storage, please consider the following:
- Homes aren’t designed to keep precious metals safe and protected. On the other hand, trusted vaults and storage facilities were designed with this function in mind. They were created to keep your valuables safe and secure from people that shouldn’t have easy access to them. Keeping your gold and silver in a storage facility means you’re doing everything possible to protect these valuable commodities.
- Residential homes are susceptible to fires, natural disasters, and burglary. Guess what? Only the most elaborate and effective criminals will ever break into a precious metals IRA storage vault. And even if they pull it off, the odds of getting away with the crime are almost zero. The crooks have a better chance of winning the lottery or get struck by lightning than robbing a storage vault. For those smart enough to invest in a gold IRA, storing your precious metals in a secure vault is mandatory. If you really want to improve your retirement portfolio, forget about home storage altogether. It isn’t allowed and it isn’t recommended anyway because it leaves you vulnerable to natural disasters, fires, and theft.
- This may seem hard to believe, but you could actually forget where you’ve stored your precious metals. You may hide them so well that you don’t remember where you put them. Is this likely going to happen? Probably not, but it’s possible nonetheless and it bears mentioning. Securing your gold in a precious metals IRA vault in a storage facility means you’ll never accidentally misplace your investments. You’ll always know where it is and it will remain safely protected by the trustworthy company monitoring your vault.
Selling Gold and Silver Investments Stored at Home
Believe it or not, there’s another expense attached to storing gold and silver at home. You may not realize it now, but if you attempt to sell to a broker they’ll force you to appraise your precious metals. Why? They don’t know what kind of scam you might be trying to pull on them. They don’t know if you’re actually selling real gold or fool’s gold made of other alloys. For all they know, you’re trying to pull a fast one on them and sell them counterfeit coins and bars.
On the other hand, keeping your gold and silver in a reputable storage facility avoids paying an appraiser. Why? The precious metals broker knows that they’re dealing with a trustworthy organization. It’s likely they already do business with your storage facility in the first place. So purchasing gold stored in their vaults isn’t such a risky endeavor. They can already count on the fact that the gold is real and it hasn’t been tampered with.
There are a lot of unscrupulous people trying to sell fake gold to others all the time. This is not only disappointing and disheartening; it’s also the sad truth.
On the whole, you’ll have to pay a gold appraiser for their services. They’ll charge anywhere from $50 an hour to $150 an hour or more. If you’re selling a large lot of precious metals, it could take the appraiser many hours to go through everything. This could potentially cost you anywhere from $500-$1000 or more, which is a waste of money if you ask me. You’re better off keeping your money safe in a secured vault and avoiding appraisal fees altogether.
The Right Way to Buy & Store Precious Metals
Have you heard of a gold IRA? If so, why are you considering buying gold and silver and stuffing it in your closet? The safest and most effective way to purchase precious metals is through an IRA account.
Why is that? Simply put, a precious metals IRA grants you the ability to buy precious metals and store them for your retirement. They will remain safely secured in an unbreakable vault owned by a trusted security company. And by keeping your gold in this account, you can store it and earn value in a tax-free or tax-deferred way.
Do yourself a favor and contact a precious metals broker right away. You can find the best by visiting our top 10 list.
Or if you prefer, contact Regal Assets immediately and sign up for their free investor’s kit. They’ll help you open your gold IRA and guide you toward the best purchases after you fund your account. You’ll appreciate their impeccable customer service, their expert guidance and their intelligent and thoughtful recommendations.
Hello,
This is a fascinating read as investing in precious metals is totally new to me. Traditional banks are losing their appeal for many people so it’s interesting to know what other options are available.
I had imagined that if you bought gold or silver then you just kept it in a safe in your own home.
Your article clearly sets out why this is a bad idea and provides useful alternatives.
Is there a minimum investment to open an account?
Best wishes,
Cameron
Hello Cameron! I’m glad my article opened up your eyes to the possibility of storing gold and silver in a precious metals depository handled by professionals in a trusted gold IRA company rather than storing them at home. There is a minimum amount to deposit and with our best company, Regal Assets, the minimum by cash deposit is $5,000 and the minimum for an IRA rollover is $10,000 but I know they send investment kits for amounts much less than that. Thank you for the feedback and the inquiry, Cameron!
Hello,
As you might imagine, many of us don’t buy gold directly because we don’t know how it works exactly. Do we actually get the physical gold and store it at home or in a safe deposit box? Do we buy “virtual gold” in an ambiguous account that seems somehow “intangible”? Thanks for your article as it helped me very much.
Thanks,
Jim
My KETO Lifestyle™
Hello Jim! Yes, the traditional way would be to store your gold and silver at home and place them in a professional safety vault. The alternative is to rely on a trusted gold IRA company to have it stored in a safe depository like Brinks. That is the way that I would recommend. Thank you for the feedback and inquiries, Jim!
Hello there,Yes, you can store gold or silver in many hidden places in and around your home. You can bury it in the backyard. Or stuff it under your bed. Or tuck it into a box of junk in the basement. But there is a lot of things involved with storing it and thanks for sharing the pro and cons with us.
Hello Ismeglamour! Indeed there are many ways to store your gold at home but the best way to store it is in a depository with a trusted gold IRA company. Thank you for sharing your feedback with us!
Hello David, Just read your blog post “The Pros and Cons of Storing Gold and Silver at Home”, We Indians have always the tendency to invest in gold. Irrespective of the price, we Indians always find a reason to invest in gold. Gold is an integral part of our culture. Your well crafted post reminds me why our forefathers insisted us to invest in gold.
Hello Rajesh! Yes, India buys gold a lot as a nation and as a people. I know that gold has played an integral role in India’s rich history and culture. We should listen to the wisdom of our forefathers and invest in gold now. Thank you for your feedback, Rajesh!
Hello there! this is an amazing review you have got here. I believe this honest post will help other readers who come across it as it has helped me at the moment. Storing gold at home for me, Its risk and not safe at all.
I will also recommend gold IRA as a friend of mine who is investing with them has testified of their legitimacy.
Hello Joy! Yes, it is much better to store your gold with a trusted gold IRA company rather than storing it at home. Thank you for sharing this information with your friend! I hope it can help them much too.