Home Buying Checklist: What to Look for Before You Buy a House
- alexandralevchuk
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
Buying a home is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make - and many of the most important characteristics of a property are difficult to change after you buy.
Beyond finishes, square footage and curb appeal, the home’s orientation, entrance, floor plan and placement of key rooms can all be considered before you commit.
This Vastu home buying checklist focuses on those fundamental features - the ones that are built into the home itself.
Key Takeaways
Look for windows, balconies and openness toward the North and East.
Check the slope of the property.
Look at where the kitchen is located.
Notice whether the North is open and light or blocked by a largely closed wall.
Look for water features such as a lake, pond or swimming pool toward the North.
Examine the overall shape of the floor plan.
Consider the main entrance and where it falls within the home's orientation.
Look at the placement of major rooms, especially bedrooms, bathrooms and the kitchen.
Don't judge a property by one feature alone. The entire home should be considered together.
Your Vastu Home Buying Checklist:
1. Look at the North and East Sides of the Home
When viewing a property, pay particular attention to what is happening along the North and East sides of the home.
Are there windows, balconies or other openings? Or are these sides largely closed off by solid walls?
In Vastu, openness toward the North and East is traditionally considered favorable. Windows, balconies and open space in these directions can therefore be positive features when evaluating a potential home.
The North is particularly important to consider - and there is more to evaluate than simply whether it has a window.
2. Check the Slope of the Property
When looking at a house, don't only look at the building - look at the land beneath and around it.
In Vastu, a property where the land is higher toward the South and slopes lower toward the North is traditionally considered favorable.
This can be especially useful to observe when buying a detached home, where the natural grading and slope of the lot are easier to identify.
3. Check Where the Kitchen Is Located
The kitchen is one of the key spaces to identify when reviewing a potential home's floor plan.
In Vastu, the South-East is traditionally considered a beneficial location for the kitchen. Once you establish True North, you can begin to understand where the kitchen - and other important rooms - fall within the home's overall orientation.
If the listing doesn't include a usable floor plan, you can prepare one yourself. It doesn't need to be professionally drawn, but the proportions, room locations, doors, windows and orientation should be clear enough to accurately represent the home.
4. Look for Water to the North
When viewing a property, look beyond the walls of the home and notice where significant water features are located.
In Vastu, water toward the North is traditionally considered beneficial. This may include a lake, pond or swimming pool located on the North side of the property.
If you're considering a waterfront home or a property with a pool, its location in relation to the house is therefore worth paying attention to - not just the fact that the water is there.
The surroundings of a property are part of the bigger picture. A Vastu assessment considers the home in relation to both its orientation and the environment around it.
5. Look at the Shape of the Floor Plan
Before buying a home, take a close look at its floor plan - particularly its overall shape.
In Vastu, square and rectangular floor plans are generally considered favorable. Their regular proportions create a more balanced foundation for the directional zones of the home.
Irregular floor plans, extensions, cut-outs or missing areas require closer attention because they can change the shape and proportions of individual Vastu zones.
A perfectly square or rectangular home isn't the only factor that matters, but the overall shape of the property is one of the first things worth checking before you buy.
Finding one favorable feature doesn't necessarily make a home ideal - and finding one potential concern doesn't necessarily mean you shouldn't buy it.
Vastu considers the property as a whole: its orientation, floor plan, entrance, room placement, openings, surrounding features and the relationship between different areas of the home.
A checklist can help you know what to notice. A personalized assessment looks at how all of those elements come together in the specific property you're considering.
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