Depending on your valuables, you may find it hard to decide what to store in a safe deposit box. Cryptocurrency seed phrases, cold wallets, and computer backups are just some of the items that leave one wondering if they’re good candidates for one’s safety deposit box.
We previously talked about storing cash in a safe deposit box. In this blog, you’ll discover the top essential items for your safety deposit box.
To begin with, picture Mr Salwan, a London-based vendor with a cache of gold jewellery and heirlooms. Concerned about securing these treasures, he found solace in a Camden-based safe deposit box service. Though ideal for his gold, he learned that a bank might be a better option for cash storage.
In this blog, we’ll look into the nine best items, aside from cash, to keep in a safe deposit box.
1). Birth, Marriage, Divorce, and Death Certificates
Revisiting Mr Salwan, who often travels for holidays, we see the importance of safely storing vital documents. On one occasion, his wife needed to change her passport name, requiring Mr Salwan’s birth certificate. After a stressful search at home, he remembered storing it in his safe deposit box, as recommended by the safety deposit centre.
Birth, marriage, divorce, and death certificates are examples of vital records that, while infrequently needed, are crucial. Storing them at home can lead to them being misplaced or forgotten. Keeping these documents in your safe deposit box ensures easy access and peace of mind, knowing exactly where they are.
Obtaining replacements for these documents from government agencies can be time-consuming, costly, and stressful. The replacements are merely copies; the originals are irreplaceable. Hence, a safe deposit box is an ideal solution for these vital records.
2). Personal Papers
Diaries and letters from your youth and special notes from family and friends are often irreplaceable, with sentimental value that cannot be measured by monetary means.
Keeping them in a safe deposit box ensures that they are not only secured but also protected from the elements. While scanning and saving them online is also an option, having the physical items on hand allows for a tangible connection to the past.
In addition, preserving these items in a safe deposit box ensures they will not be lost or damaged due to time, heat, or light. They can be passed down from generation to generation, preserving your family’s history for years to come.
3). Family Photos
While digital storage may be convenient for our recent photos, there is something special about preserving physical photographs, especially those that hold sentimental value.
Storing these physical copies in a safe deposit box can provide protection against damage or loss due to natural disasters, theft, or even technological failures.
Additionally, a safe deposit box can provide a secure and private location for keeping other sentimental items such as family heirlooms, important documents, or other valuable possessions that may not be replaceable.
By utilizing a safe deposit box, you can ensure that your cherished memories and valuable possessions are kept safe for future generations to enjoy.
4). Collectables and Digital Certificates
The value of rare stamps can increase significantly over time, and in some cases, the surviving ones can be worth a fortune. For instance, there is only one surviving copy of the British Guiana one-cent magenta stamp, which sold for $9.5 million in 2014.
As collectables become rarer and more difficult to obtain, their value typically increases. Keeping rare stamps in a safe deposit box is an excellent way to protect them from damage or theft, ensuring their preservation for future generations.
Whether you are an avid collector or simply looking to preserve a valuable family heirloom, a safe deposit box provides a secure and convenient storage option.
5). Jewellery
Heirlooms, jewellery, and items with increasing financial and sentimental value are ideal candidates for your safe deposit box.
Instead of leaving them to chance at your home, securing them in a safe deposit box can bring you peace of mind.
You may consider getting supplemental insurance for such things even if they are already part of your homeowner insurance policy.
6). Inventory of your home contents, receipts, and warranties
Taking inventory of your home content can help you update your insurer at the renewal about the accurate total of your home contents and of any new items purchased/received through the year.
It is a very smart move to keep such inventory away from your home, where there is no chance it will get lost or stolen should the worst happen.
With it securely sitting in your safety deposit, you will always have a physical reminder to update your insurers on new content.
Even smarter, supplement your inventory with photos on a thumb drive.
Why bother paying for storage of receipts when you can keep them together in a file/drawer at home?
7). Property Records
Real estate records are not something you need or use every day.
The transactions are often followed by a pile of paperwork.
In general, it is a good idea to keep track of them as long as you own the property.
Even when you sell – keeping track of this paperwork can save you stress if you ever need it in the future.
8). Car Registration Documents
Car registration documents are not something you use every day. Hence will be ideally suited for your safe deposit box.
The only time you may need it is when you want to transfer ownership.
If you lose your logbook, driver’s licence, or other car registration documents, you will have to register for another one online.
There will be paperwork, a fee, and a wait time of at least 5 days.
9). Records of Home Improvement Costs
As an average house owner, when you sell, you will be asked to prove any major home improvements.
If you have made improvements such as new windows and extensions. You must show that it meets the required British Standards and Building Regulations.
If you can’t produce such papers, it may negatively affect the value of the property. And result in costly indemnity policies, and/or cost time and money for a replacement.
The housing market in the UK has soared dramatically, up to 12.4% in 2022. Expect those numbers to keep rising as the UK faces a housing crisis.
What does this mean if you are a property investor? You want to minimise your Capital Gains Tax (as of July 2022 – 18% to 28%).
Or as a limited company your Corporation Tax (as of July 2022 19% due to increase to 25% by 2024). Improvement costs are deductible and keeping safe records of these is essential.
Buyers and accountants alike will want evidence of bonafide improvements. So why leave it to chance?
If it’s legal and fits in a box…
If it’s legal and it fits, it’s likely a candidate for safekeeping in a safety deposit box.
The key to determining whether an item is suitable for storage in one of our boxes is quite straightforward: see if it fits comfortably within the confines of the box. If it does, then it’s an ideal item for safe storage.
Visit our centre with your items to see how they fit in our safety deposit boxes.