Could you possibly spend $0 on renovations? That was my question to a friend of mine, who just bought a resale flat. This isn’t a new flat either: we’re talking 1970-something construction, and there’s still a squat toilet. Usually with a flat this old, you expect any savings from lease decay to be swallowed up by a scary Interior Design bill. But as a sign of the times, my friend has done nothing but refurnish: new tables, chairs, beds, etc. But all of the old renovation, from cupboards with slightly peeling edges, to the occasional missing tile, is still as it was – likely from a renovation that was over a decade or two ago. But his reason for keeping it that way? The first would be avoiding the reno loan. He detests the idea of owning money, and taking a home loan was a big enough shock to the...