Even if he's naturally incompetent at handy stuff, the repairs are really the only part any person without a handicap might struggle with. He could pay an American to fix the things he can't, but lording it over someone who's a step above a slave is too good for him to give up.
That is what happens with these people when they fall on hard times. It's like Grey Gardens. They become obsessed with pieces of furniture, but the downstairs toilet has been broken for years and all the floor tiles are delaminated. It's pathetic. You want to put them out of their misery.