Safe for documents/money/etc that would work in a rented apartment

Hello!

I am soon going to be moving out of my parents house for the first time! I am doing a lot of planning to get a full idea of expenses and came across how I plan to protect my important documents and cash. However I am not super familiar with how apartments work in this regard, I don't feel secure with having a safe that is easily moved, and I will be moving about 900+ miles from my parents, so simply leaving my documents in their safe is not an option, what I am hoping for is some for of safe that is hard enough to break into and move that any possible intruder simply does not feel it's worth their time to steal from it. So my questions go as follows:

1. How do most apartments handle bolting down safes?

2. Is there a system that I can deploy so that a safe is secured without damaging the property?

3. If there is a no on both of these, would it be more advantageous to rent a safety deposit box?

4. Are there any safes you recommend?

Thank you for any help you can give me!

 

Honestly, other than cash what type of "documents" would you have that anybody would want to steal that they could easily sell, probably nothing.

Your greatest concern is probably fire, flood, or storm but the odds are astronomical, but they do happen.

You cant alter the apt so trying to add anything is out of the question, you can rent a box but that's just another expense you probably could put to better use.

Make copies of everything and keep a set with your parents!

 

Since the probability of your parent's home burning is the same as your apartment, my choice for important documents is a safety deposit box.

 

Safes unfortunately have a way of telling thieves "the valuables are in here". And, most inexpensive safes and fire safes are pretty easy to break into. Or, if a thief can't get into it they can just pry it free and carry it out to work on later. Since you are renting there isn't much you can do for concealment. I might put the safe in an unconventional location like inside a kitchen base cabinet or under the sink.

A safe deposit box would certainly be the safest bet for true valuables, especially things you don't need access too very often. Great for deeds, vehicle titles and expensive jewelry you don't wear often.

 

I have a fire rated "safe". It kept valued documents from being destroyed when we had a house fire. We never used it for money or any other valuables. Making copies of your valuable documents - especially certified copies is a really good idea.

As an aside, I had several hundred dollars in cash in a "cookie jar" and after the fire was out it was returned to me by the firemen. On the other hand the wife had several thousand dollars in jewelry that disappeared when we hired a "fire mitigation" company. Some was in a jewelry box (the entire box went missing) and some in a dresser drawer.

 

Many moons ago, I started out in a locksmith shop helping out in the safe department, and learned a bit about UL ratings for Fire & Burglary safes.....these important ratings have changed a little over the years, but can be found online easily. A UL tested safe will have a metal UL placard designating it's rating. Needless to say, the cheaper safes are fire only, and this is what you find at big box stores, etc. A visit to a full-line locksmith however, will have many varieties of fire and burglary safes, and will be familiar with the UL ratings as well. And just because a safe doesn't have a UL rating at all, doesn't mean it's worthless.....security depends on many factors. I've got a little 14" X 14" X 14" fire safe, bolted to the wall studs in my closet, hidden behind clothes, with some keep-safes, some papers, and a little cash, but never over $500-600.

Unless your rental unit is brand-spanking new, with no blemishes, signs of wear, etc, you should be able to get away with bolting a safe to the wall studs or floor joists (or slab)....the 4 screw holes can be easily patched and spackled after removal. Not all safes have bolt-down holes (mine didn't) so a little "southern engineering" was necessary.

 

Just a little off topic but I keep an old lock box on the floor of my closet with some old, useless papers, some small cash bills and a few old keys in plain sight. My hope is that if an intruder finds this he will quickly take it assuming he has scored the best he can at my house and quickly leave. Hoping he will open it elsewhere and get the few dollars inside.

 

If you feel you must have a security "COPY" then scan every single document you have. It might not be legal in a court but it proves you had documents in your possession.