Yula.la News

Since 2016, the Modern Lao Homes design, construction and development company, have one goal: to introduce modern, innovative designs and build quality homes, to suit all budgets of Laotian and expatriate customers in Laos. Modern Lao Homes works extends from renovation, repairs, design and building complete houses for private landholders. The team is also able to take on the development of real estate property for investment. The teams prices are competitive with the current market price, fair yet uncompromising in the materials and technicalities of building your dream home.

The banlao.la team sat down with Ben Soo, General Manager of Modern Lao Homes, to find out more about the process of designing and building your dream home in Laos with Modern Lao homes...

Banlao.la: What Services does MLH offer?

Ben Soo: Firstly, we do building designs and plans. Dream it and we can make it possible! We are experts when it comes to designing the newest, eye-catching and trendy plans in the world of Modern Homes. Designs that are not only wonderful to look at - but practical and applicable to the local context. We offer an affordable design service that ensures your dream home is to up to spec with the latest modern looks and functionality. Find out more.

We also do build work/construction. Modern Lao Homes is synonymous with quality and excellence in the building industry in Laos. That’s a reputation that is hard earned and we are very protective of it. We don’t substitute for cheaper materials or take shortcuts, instead committing to build you your dream home that will last for years to come. Find out more.

Renovations and Repairs are also part of our product set... Need an extension to your current home, or considering some renovations to improve the livability or style of your current home, or its resale prospects? The Modern Lao Homes’ team can help with this too! Find out more.   

Finally, we also offer consultation and management of constructors. Using a local firm to manage your design or build but not confident that they will perform the job to a high level, or concerned they will use inferior materials than quoted? We can also help with this by overseeing sub-contractors materials order versus quote, reviewing the quality of workmanship and reporting to client, alerts to short-cuts or hidden issues in workmanship, independent appraisal of real costs versus quoted costs and taking over the task for completion, in the case that subcontractor defaults. Find out more.  

Banlao.la: What are the prices for the services at MLH?

Ben Soo: It’s very affordable! Design for a one storey house will stay from about USD$1,500 for 1 Storey House, including BOQ, 8 3D perspectives and Structure Drawings for construction. Meanwhile, building services costs start around $350-$400 per square meter for 1 Storey House, including electrical, plumbing, tiling and fixtures – Kitchen counters, toilet, shower fixtures and wardrobes. Renovation and repair costs will depend on the job at hand!

Banlao.la: Do you use any Chinese products in your builds?

Ben Soo: The only Chinese products we use in our house is the stone top for the kitchen and bathroom counters as they’re known to be very durable and affordable.

Banlao.la: What kind of steel/cement do you use in your builds?

Ben Soo: We use only Xiengkhouang Steel, SCG Steel (Thailand) or higher quality ones which meets the tensile strength requirement to build a house internationally. Likewise for cement, we use CSC, the biggest cement manufacturer in Laos for quality. We don’t substitute materials or use any brands that will compromise on the quality.

Banlao.la: Do you do work outside of Vientiane as well?

Ben Soo: Yes! However prices will have to be slightly higher to cover logistical and management costs.

Banlao.la: How is MLH service prices compared to other builders in Laos?

Ben Soo: The core of our business is to develop trust among our customers and in this aspect we create a very transparent relationship in our dealings with our customers; we keep a record of what we purchase that is available for our customers to see, we help our customers get in touch with past clients so they can have a chat and learn about their experience building with us and we always go the extra mile to make our customers happy.

Banlao.la: Do you build your houses in steel frame as well or pre-fab?

Ben Soo: Yes we can build in steel frame, though prices are 30% higher than traditional brick and cement. We’ve not explored pre-fab yet as most of it comes from China and we’re not sure of the quality of those just yet.

Banlao.la: Do you have houses for sale?

Ben Soo: Yes. We’ve got 1 full furnished unit available in Dongdok with 3 more ready to finish on order. See properties for sale by Modern Lao homes, and properties for rent.

Banlao.la: How long does it take to build a house with MLH?

Ben Soo: Traditional method can usually take anywhere from 8-12 months depending on the size of the house

Banlao.la: What are some of your other corporate clients that you’ve worked with in the past?

Ben Soo: Crowne Plaza, ANZ Bank, Australian Embassy, Belarus Residence, J&C Services.

Banlao.la: Does MLH employ foreign workers on site?

Ben Soo: We mostly employ locals but do have Vietnamese foreman on site to manage quality. We also have trained locals as supervisors who are constantly equipping and training to international quality.

Banlao.la: How does the payment work for the builds?

Ben Soo: We normally break down the payment in stages starting with a 30% deposit for the foundation work followed by a series of 3-4 more payments to follow on each completion of stages on the house build

Banlao.la: When is the recommended month to build?

Ben Soo: Ideally the foundation of the house should start building latest by April before the rainy season hits. As long as foundation and is done before the rainy season, building can progress as usual.

Peak Building Months: November, December, January, February, March, April, May,

Slow Building Months: June, July, August, September, October

Interested to find out more about Modern Lao Homes? Get in touch today via the contact forms here: https://realestatekh.lpages.co/modern-lao-homes/  Or email to [email protected] today!