I’m old, gimme the 2 Mil…
The $2 million thing seems safer to me - I’d invest them at, say, 5 % p.a., and enjoy a steady annual income of $100,000 for the rest of my life. The 75 % rebate would force me to keep on working, because I have to have monrey in order to make use of the deduction. And since $100K a year is enough for me, I won’t be greedy and be content with it. It’s safer, more comfortable, and complies with my natural laziness…
Definitely the 2 mil option. My dream in life isn’t to be filthy rich, just comfortable without having to work. Hell, one million could do that. Two million is a bonus so I can afford a bigger house.
The 2 mil up front is cool; especially if inflation boots up. Also, as Fretful Porcupine said, buying and selling involves too much work. 
Zebra,
I hadn’t thought about credit rating. Let’s say you wanted a 200K house. You would get financing for 50K and part of the hypothetical is that no one would blink or think anything about it - and that the remaining 150K would be provided from some mysterious, anon source. I really hadn’t thought about joint purchases, to be honest.
I like this question because while it seems so clear to some of us to take the 75% off option, there are others out there who would not - and their choice is equally clear to them. Personally, I do better with some forced structure in my life. I sort of need a job to keep my sanity. I’d definitely bargain for better vacation time, that’s for sure - but the 75% off allows me to better manage my life. I just know I’d end up blowing the 2 million somehow. What a horrible commentary on my self-control!
Tibs.
No doubt. $2 million is like getting $40k/year for 50 years. That’s more than I’m making now. Tell me I can make $40k/year for, essentially, the rest of my life without having to put in a day of work and I’m sold. I can’t imagine not having to work for someone else and yet doing it anyway. Time is far more precious a resource than money and yet people happily give it away all the time.