DEAR AMY: My good friends want to downsize for retirement, but the major repairs needed on their house will prevent them from making enough on the sale to buy their next place. They asked me to brainstorm options, and one idea I had was to convert the basement level into a rentable apartment, so they can use the rental income to complete the repairs on their home over time. We did some quick math and their next step was to talk to their financial planner. Well, they decided to go for it, but in my opinion they are making all the wrong decisions! They are using a handyman and doing a lot of wor…