Buying an apartment for the first time, whether to stay in or for investment, may be a daunting task. As you inspect the interior of your dream condo, you may be faced with questions that make you doubt its viability. Should you take note of the location of the toilets? Does it matter that the apartment does not face your personal direction?

Worry not. Here are six of the best tips to help you assess the interior feng shui of an apartment.

No. 1: Main door

The main door is essentially the Qi mouth of any property and the primary entrance for Qi to flow into it from the external environment.

It is extremely important to note if there are any obstructions that could negatively affect the main door in any way as this will affect the ability of the property to receive Qi from the environment.

When evaluating the main door, do not just look into an apartment but make sure to go in and look out from it as well.

Even if the main door does not share the same Facing Direction as the property, this is no reason to panic. This is because the location of the main door is more important than the Facing Direction of the main door.

Ideally, the main door should be located in a good sector of the property, even if it is not facing the best direction.

No. 2: The kitchen

After the main door, the kitchen is the next-most important area to consider when evaluating the interior feng shui of an apartment. Since the kitchen is where we prepare food, it is vital to keep a healthy flow of Qi in the kitchen.

If the Qi in the kitchen is bad, then the residents of the property will be unable to nourish themselves well, resulting in their poor health. A badly located kitchen may even affect their lifespan.

The kitchen must never be located in the central palace or in the centre of a property. This is a passive sector, and locating the kitchen here is said to ‘burn the heart’ of the property, creating long-term instability and nagging health problems.

Essentially, the kitchen should always be in one of the side sectors of the property, never in the centre.

No. 3: The bedroom

Since we spend a third of our lives in our bedrooms, we must ensure that Qi can enter the bedroom freely without any obstruction.

Like the kitchen, bedrooms should be located in suitable sectors of the property.

The basic shape of the bedroom should be square or rectangular. This is because both these shapes represent Earth, which stands for stability, making it suitable for activities like sleeping and working.

As far as possible, avoid rooms that are round, triangular, trapezoidal or oddly shaped, with sharp corners. These rooms do not have a balanced Qi, and will not only affect your sleep but will also heighten the effect of any negative visiting Stars in the room.

By choosing a square room, you are to some degree insulating yourself from any negative Qi present in the room.

No. 4: Staircase

If you’re considering purchasing a townhouse apartment, the staircase is an important internal feature to assess. It is via the staircase that Qi travels up to the second floor and any subsequent floors of the property.

A carefully planned property is one where the staircase is located to receive Qi and also distribute Qi upstairs.

Since we require a good flow of Qi throughout the apartment, it is best to avoid having a staircase in the centre of the property. If the staircase is in the centre of the property, but not dead centre, it is fine.

However, to be on the safe side, avoid a property with such a feature.

No. 5: Toilets

Many people think that toilets flush away their wealth or Qi. No, they do not. It is also a myth that bad energy is emitted from toilets. Toilets just need to be cleaned regularly. The location of a toilet is a consideration in feng shui, but only in some instances.

One common feature in smaller apartments is that the bedrooms often open to a toilet. In this situation, all the Qi that enters the bedroom is flushed into the toilet, instead of circulating round the room. This is not a good layout for a property, so avoid buying one with this problem.

However, if you still wish to purchase this type of property, you may place some furniture in between the room door and the toilet door to alter this flow.

No. 6: Water

Water features inside an apartment are something you should treat with care because water must be placed in the right sectors of a home or it can cause difficulties in life for those who live in it.

If there are any large bodies of water, such as a pond or a built-in aquarium, in any of the rooms, it is best to note which sector it is located in and have the property checked by a feng shui consultant before you decide to buy it.

Finding the right apartment with good feng shui attributes is not easy. People are often obsessed with finding the perfect place, which is a very difficult task, especially if you’re on a tight budget.

Unless you have the financial means to custom-design your apartment, you should be prepared to find that every property has feng shui issues.

The goal here is to determine if these issues are minor or major, and if they can be rectified by renovation.

At the same time, you should be determined to say ‘no’ if an apartment has major flaws in its Internal Forms. If an apartment has a good main door but unstable rooms due to their negative forms, then it is not worth your money. It is a zero-sum gain.

And do not buy an apartment just because it happens to face your favourable direction.

Be patient. With a lot of effort and determination, you should be able to find the apartment you need.