By Property Soul (guest contributor)

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Do you believe in fengshui? I am a big fan of it. Don’t get me wrong. I am not being superstitious. Fengshui is very scientific. There is nothing speculative or supernatural about it. Property fengshui is about maintaining the harmony between man and nature for the sake of good health and good fortune.

Good fengshui depends very much on the external environment, especially the four basic elements of wind, sunlight, mountains and rivers. You can judge the fengshui of a place based on its location, direction, ventilation, sunlight, etc. Fengshui is all about harnessing Sheng Qi (生气) and avoiding Sha Qi (煞气).

Should you buy or consult a fengshui master first?

Many people hire fengshui masters to see their new home after they have bought the place, when they should do it the other way round. There are two reasons behind this.

First, if you have already made the purchase, it is too late to tell you the truth even if the fengshui of the place is bad. And because you are a customer of the fengshui master, to be courteous, problem areas are only mentioned subtly in order not to make you lose face or upset you too much. Afterall, there is not much you can do now.

Second, most fengshui masters like to advise their clients on renovation and decoration. But in reality, the outside environment is much more important than the interior decoration. If the external fengshui is bad, there is only so much that the interior fengshui can do. And you can’t make good use of the Qi if it doesn’t exist in the first place. There is an interesting analogy from a famous fengshui master: You can’t do hairstyling if you don’t have any hair in the first place.

What are the consequences of buying a good or bad fengshui property?

Why am I so particular about buying a unit with good fengshui?

Because I care about the well-being of my family and I have to ensure there are no bad elements in our home.

Because I have pride and I know people visiting my place will be full of praise.

Because I can get a good tenant in a soft rental market when competing with other landlords.

Because I can market it at a premium price when I sell my unit.

Because I know how badly things can turn out if I buy the wrong unit out of ignorance.

I have personally stepped into hundreds of resale units while doing flat viewing. You can’t imagine the bad units people can buy. The location, direction, facing, floor and layout can all be wrong.

There are so many silly mistakes that the owners could have avoided if they bothered to do their homework and to think twice before they bought.

The sad thing is: These owners have spent so much money buying the unit. But their family have to endure the nuisance or undesirable consequences.

Some common examples of bad fengshui

The definition and criteria of a good unit may be subjective. However, people tend to agree what defines a bad one – an obstructed view, a bad facing, lack of privacy, too much void area, too much noise or dust, a bad or odd layout, etc.

Last month I went to view a condominium project that just obtained its TOP. Half of the units had a fantastic unblocked seaview. The units facing the sea were asking for a premium price.

However, when you open the double glazed windows in the balcony, you are immediately turned off by the noise coming from the heavy traffic of the highway. Unless the windows are closed all the time, I can only imagine how the residents are disturbed by the Noise Sha (声煞), causing troubles like restless days, hot tempers, sleepless nights and poor health.

I used to own a unit in a condominium with blocks that were much higher in height than the surrounding projects. It had an unblocked view. I thought it was bright and windy with very good fengshui.

But the problem was that it faced strong winds from all directions. Very often the wind was so strong that the doors kept slamming if they were not closed properly. If the wind is too strong, all Qi will be dispersed and good fortune cannot be kept. The situation is similar to the only house built on top of a hill. This problem in fengshui is called Wind Sha (风煞).

There are also other Sha Qi (bad fenghsui) that should best be avoided. For instance, the Heaven’s Kill Sha (天斩煞), Scissors Sha (剪刀煞), Wall Blade Sha (壁刀煞), Flame Sha (火形煞), Reflection Sha (反光煞) and Roof Ridge Sha (屋脊煞).

All these Sha Qi can be easily identified if home buyers have the knowledge and are observant. Afterall, many principles of fengshui are just common sense. However, common sense is not common.


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