Short answer: A Vastu check before buying a flat takes ten points. Before you pay the booking amount, check the main door position, the unit’s shape, a kitchen in the south-east or north-west, no toilet in the north-east or centre, and the master bedroom in the south-west. These are hard to change later; furniture, colours and room use can be eased after you move in.
Updated 3 November 2026
Why should the Vastu check come before the booking amount?
Because before you pay, you can still pick another unit; after, you mostly cannot. Once the booking amount is paid, most buyers stop asking questions. That is exactly the wrong moment to stop. A few things in a flat can be eased after you move in, but the main door, the kitchen, the toilets and the shape of the unit are fixed the day you sign. So the check has to happen while you can still pick another unit, another floor or another project.
Buyers often send me two brochure plans from the same project and ask which one to book. Some pick the other flat, some move to a different floor or block, a few walk away, and many book with small room changes planned. The point is to know before you pay, not after.
There is also a second question hiding behind “which flat?”: “which flat for us?” A plan that is merely acceptable can still suit a buyer whose chart favours its strongest side, and a good plan can be a poor fit at the wrong time.
What do builders usually get right and wrong in flat Vastu?
Kitchens and master bedrooms are often right; toilet shafts, cut corners and a blocked centre are often wrong. After reading many Bengaluru brochure plans, I see the same habits repeat. The good news first: builders now place the kitchen in the south-east quite often, because they know buyers ask. Many 2BHK and 3BHK plans also put the larger bedroom in the south-west.
The trouble usually sits elsewhere. Toilets are stacked one above the other along a shared plumbing shaft, and in many towers that shaft lands in the north-east of half the units. In corner units of L-shaped towers, a cut in the north-east or south-west is common. And in compact plans, the centre of the flat is often a passage with a duct or a toilet wall running through it. These are the things to look for first, because they are the hardest to change.
If the tower is set at an angle to the road, read how I rank units on my page on choosing a flat in a Sarjapur Road tower.
The 10-point Vastu check before buying a flat
Go through these on the brochure plan, then confirm them on site with a compass.
| # | Check | Good sign | Watch out for | Fixable later? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Main door | North, east or north-east; on south or west walls, the half towards the south-east or north-west | A door at the south-west end of any wall | Partly |
| 2 | Shape of the unit | Square or rectangle | A cut north-east or an extended south-west | Hard |
| 3 | Kitchen | South-east, or north-west as the second choice | Kitchen in the north-east | Hard |
| 4 | Toilets | North-west, west or south | Toilet in the north-east or the centre | Hard |
| 5 | Master bedroom | South-west | The only big bedroom in the north-east | Room use can swap |
| 6 | Centre of the flat | Open floor | Toilet, duct or staircase in the middle | No |
| 7 | Balcony and open side | North or east, with morning light | Only the south-west side open | No |
| 8 | Pooja space | A clear spot in the north-east or east | No light corner in the north or east | Usually yes |
| 9 | Unit’s place in the tower | Any, if the layout is right; lift and stairs away from your door | The cut-out corner of the building; a shaft on your north-east wall | No |
| 10 | Gate, roads and light | Gate and roads on the north or east; cross ventilation | A road ending at your block; dark north and east rooms | No |
If a plan fails two of the “Hard” or “No” rows, I would think hard before booking. If it fails one, ask what can be eased before you decide.
How do I read a brochure plan for Vastu myself?
Mark north, find the centre, draw the zones and run the ten checks, in that order.
- Find the north arrow on the brochure. Builders sometimes draw it loosely, so confirm it on site with a phone compass.
- Mark the centre of the flat and draw a grid of 16 zones around it. The 16-zone method shows how.
- Mark the main door, kitchen, toilets and bedrooms in their zones.
- Go through the 10 checks above, line by line.
- On the site visit, stand at the main door with the compass and look at the light in the north and east rooms. The Vastu compass guide to reading a door’s direction shows how to take a clean reading.
What can be eased after moving in, and what cannot?
Easy to change later: who sleeps in which room, where the bed and desk go, colours, lighting, mirrors, where cash and heavy cupboards sit, and the pooja setup. Hard to change without construction: a toilet or kitchen in the north-east, a missing north-east corner, a main door at the south-west end, and anything in the centre of the flat.
If you already live in a flat and want to know what to change, that is a different question, answered in my page on Vastu for flat and apartment you already live in, which also covers which facing, floor and balcony work best. Buying land instead? Use the plot buying checklist. For the wider picture, the Vastu Shastra for home room-by-room guide goes room by room.
Should I book a flat on Dhanteras or Akshaya Tritiya?
You can, as long as the plan check is done well before the day. Many buyers like to pay the token on an auspicious day. Dhanteras falls on 6 November 2026, and Akshaya Tritiya on 8 or 9 May 2027 depending on the panchang. If you are aiming for Dhanteras, the plan check needs to happen well before it, not on the day. A good date does not rescue a difficult plan. The timing side of a purchase, from your chart rather than the calendar, is covered in when to buy property as per astrology.
How do I choose the flat that suits my chart, not just the plan?
Add your birth chart to the plan review. A plan review ranks two flats on Vastu alone. When I add your birth chart, the ranking can change, because the chart shows which directions you lean on and whether this is a good period to buy. It turns “which flat is better?” into “which flat is better for you, now?”
One example: a buyer running a Mercury period, choosing between two units. If one has a toilet in the north and the other a small kitchen in the north-west, I would weigh the north more heavily for that buyer, since Mercury is tied to the north. For decisions like this, I offer an Astro-Vastu review of the flat with your chart. If you only want the plans compared, the ₹1,499 review is the quick first step.
To have a flat checked before you book, send me the brochure plans with the unit marked and the north arrow visible. Book a pre-purchase flat review: ₹1,499 per flat, a 45-minute call online or at my Begur studio, and a written report within 48 hours. It works for projects in any city. See also how my residential consultations work and my Vastu consultation in Bangalore.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get a flat checked for Vastu online?
Yes. Send me the brochure floor plan with your unit and the north arrow marked. I read it on a 45-minute call and send a written report within 48 hours. The review is ₹1,499 per flat and works for projects anywhere in India.
Is an east-facing flat better than a west-facing one?
Not by itself. Both can work well. Where the door sits on that wall and how the kitchen, toilets and bedrooms fall in the zones matter more than the facing. I have seen good west-facing plans and poor east-facing ones in the same project.
Should I compare two flats in the same project?
Yes, it is one of the most useful things to do before booking. Units on different sides of a tower can have very different north-east corners, toilet positions and light. Send both plans together and I will rank them with reasons.
What if the builder’s north arrow looks wrong?
It happens. Brochure arrows are sometimes drawn for the whole site, not your tower, or are simply rough. Check with a phone compass on site, away from steel and the electricity meter, and take two or three readings before you trust it.
I have already booked a flat with Vastu issues. What now?
Most issues can be eased through room use, furniture placement, colours and simple steps that need no construction. My page on Vastu remedies without breaking walls shows the kind of changes I suggest. Start with the north-east and the centre.