Vastu Tips for Buying a House: Your Viewing-Day Checklist

The most useful Vastu tips for buying a house are the ones you can check in a twenty-minute viewing: which way the entrance faces and where it sits on the wall, the shape of the plot and building, where the kitchen and main bedroom fall, and whether the north-east is open and light. Note these facts calmly, then weigh the whole picture rather than one detail.

Before you book the viewing

Much can be learned from the listing itself. Estate-agent floor plans, satellite maps and street view let you work out orientation before you set foot inside.

1. Find the house on an online map and note which way the front door faces.
2. Print or save the floor plan and draw a north arrow on it.
3. Divide each floor into a three-by-three grid and label the zones.
4. Note any extension, conservatory or loft dormer that changes the outline.

Arriving with this sketch means the viewing becomes a check of what you already suspect, not a scramble with a compass while the agent waits. If you have a shortlist and want a second opinion before viewing, send us your question with the floor plans.

Vastu tips for buying a house: the viewing checklist

Orientation and the entrance

Confirm the facing with your phone compass from inside the front door. North, east and north-east entrances are traditionally favoured, but a south or west door is not a reason to walk away. Note where the door sits along the wall: centre, or pushed into a corner. A door tucked into the south-west corner is the placement to look at more closely.

Plot and building shape

Square and rectangular shapes are preferred. Irregular or triangular plots and heavily cut corners are the patterns Vastu is most cautious about.

Extensions and missing corners

Look at which corner an extension fills and which it leaves cut. A missing north-east is the one most often raised, while an extension that pushes out the north-east is traditionally the most welcome. Extended south-west, south-east or north-west corners are viewed with more caution.

The kitchen

Note the kitchen's zone in the house and the position of the hob within it. A kitchen in the south-east or north-west is traditionally preferred. If a refit is part of your plans anyway, a less ideal hob position may be easy to change.

The main bedroom

Which bedroom falls closest to the south-west? Could it become the main bedroom, and does it have a solid wall for the headboard with the head pointing south or east?

The centre and the north-east

Traditionally the centre of the house is kept open, and the north-east kept light and uncluttered. Is there a staircase, a boiler cupboard or a toilet in either? Note it, but remember these can usually be balanced.

Light, air and surroundings

Good daylight from the north and east is valued. Look at what surrounds the house: a very tall building directly to the north-east, a busy junction pointing at the front door, or a large tree overshadowing the entrance are all worth recording.

Questions worth asking the agent

A few questions give you information you cannot see: which door the current owners actually use day to day, when the extension or loft was added, whether any internal walls have been removed, and which rooms get the morning sun. Agents are used to being asked about light and orientation, so there is nothing unusual about raising it. Write the answers straight onto your floor plan so they stay with the rest of your notes.

Weighing up what you noticed

Almost no house ticks every box, and very few UK homes were built with Vastu in mind. A sensible way to read your notes is to sort them into three groups:

• Easily balanced: clutter, lighting, room use, bed and furniture placement.
• Balanced with small works: kitchen layout during a refit, door hinges, decoration.
• Structural and permanent: plot shape, entrance position, missing corners.

Only the third group is truly fixed, and even there much can be done inside. Vastu is also one consideration among many. It sits alongside your survey, your solicitor's searches, the commute and the school run, and it should never replace professional advice on the purchase itself.

Used this way, Vastu tips for buying a house help you ask better questions and notice more at a viewing, without letting a single detail make the decision for you.

Our article on a home energy reading for a new home looks at what can be done once you have the keys.

When to ask for a new home session

If you are deciding between two properties, or a detail from the checklist keeps bothering you, it is worth asking before you commit rather than after. The Energy at Home / New Home session is a 45-minute consultation that reads the home's own horoscope alongside your personal horoscope, combining Vedic astrology, Vastu Shastra and Feng Shui. Because your chart is part of the reading, it helps you reflect on how a particular house sits with your household, not just how it scores on a generic list.

For the session, bring the floor plans with north marked, your notes from the viewing, photos of each room and your birth details. Once you have chosen, the Magic of Lucky Dates & Times service can help you choose a considered date and time for moving in or holding a housewarming.

Frequently asked questions

Should I reject a house because it faces south?

Not on that basis alone. Look at the door position, the plot shape and the arrangement of rooms together.

Can Vastu be checked from photos and plans alone?

A great deal can, provided the floor plan is accurate and north is correctly marked. Photos help with light and surroundings.

Does Vastu apply to new-build homes?

Yes. New builds often have regular shapes, which helps, but check entrance position and where the kitchen and bedrooms fall.

Is a Vastu view a replacement for a survey?

No. It is a reflective consideration alongside, never instead of, your survey and legal advice.

Househunting is stressful enough without guessing. Send us your question with the listing's floor plan, or book the new home session before you commit, and we will go through the property with you calmly and clearly.