North by north-east, vaastu-style

Vaastu has come to stay in cities such as Chennai and Bangalore. “All apartments offered for sale in Chennai invariably mention vaastu-compliance” says Sumit Jain, CEO and co-founder of CommonFloor.com, a real estate portal.

What really do builders mean when they say that the construction is based on vaastu principles?

Builders who claim compliance typically have given thought to prevalent vaastu rules right from when the architecture is done, says Mallik C., Vice-President – Marketing Sales and CRM, JS Holdings, a Bangalore-based developer. For example, the position of the main entrance of the house, master bedroom and kitchen position are such that it is preferable to clients.

However, this may not be enough, says Rameshbabu Anandan, a vaastu expert. “While we may see a kitchen in the south-east (agni), bedroom in the south-west, (nairudhi), bathroom in the north-west (vayu) and hall in the north-east (easanyam), this will not give good results to the buyer. This is because most builders may not follow many other important fundamental rules and aspects,” he says.

The north-east angle

For example, he says, an apartment without windows in the north and east of the flat should not be considered good vaastu. Rameshbabu suggests that the north-east corner of a building may be the best, as the chance of having the preferred location for an open window (to see the sky) is high. Even in this case, one should check that the north and east wall are not shared with the neighbours, he cautions.

Indeed, clients prefer to buy homes with the entrance in the north, east or north-east. According to Mallik, these go fast at the initial level. When it comes to villas and plots, they go for a higher price. Commonfloor.com said north entry plots that were square-shaped sold nearly 30 per cent faster than others. Apartments with a north-east entrance also sell comparatively quickly, but only marginally. Buyers of flats are more insistent on the surroundings such as not being near a cremation ground.

Ideal features

Another feature that is easy for buyers to check is the shape of the apartment. The vaastu-recommended shape is square or rectangle, without any cuts in the corner. Staircases in the corner are best avoided. The presence of balcony may create corners and buyers may want to check this as well. Ravindra Pai, Managing Director of Bangalore-based Century Real Estate says vaastu is a very extensive subject. Some builders pointed out that it was not practical for developers to follow all the principles of vaastu as the designs would then become inefficient and waste space.

However, while owners of independent homes who have vaastu-related issues have recourse to re-designing the home, apartment owners do not have the option. Those who are insistent on compliance should consult an expert to check subtleties such as street focus, exalted entrance location, water sump location and so on before inking a deal.

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