<prompt> Human: So, in my region theres a yearly raffle where the top prize is a huge house in a nice neighborhood in San Francisco. quick details: the house is 7 BR, 6 baths, 6700 sq. feet, 4 floors, panoramic view of SF, GG Bridge, Bay Bridge, Alcatraz, etc. Theres a bunch of other prizes as well, but thats the grand prize being offered. You can take that house, or you can take about 4,000,000 cash, which is what they say the house is worth. That 4 million after taxes is about 2.4 million, give or take I believe. Now, hypothetically speaking, if you won this prize, which option would you take---the house, or the 4 million 2.4 million in cash? Ive been having a fun discussion with some friends about this, and there seems to be a divide amongst us: I say take the cash, using it to invest in a few other properties, while others think the house is worth it as you can rent it out and make tons of money. Thoughts?  <response>: Youre going to take the tax hit whether you take the house or the cash. If you take the house, though, you cant just mail in the garage and call it even. You have to come up with that money yourself, and that can be very, very hard to do.Youre also going to have to pay taxes twice a year on the house, whereas the cash only gets taxed once. Unless you were already rich and you actually needed that much house, the cash is the best bet. 