Knowing how to choose a Vastu consultant matters more than it should, because there is no single licensing authority or certifying body for Vastu in India. Anyone can print a visiting card. That puts the burden on you to ask the right questions, and most people are not sure what those questions are.
This guide gives you eight practical checks, drawn from what we think a careful client should expect from any Vastu practitioner, including us. It focuses on method, honesty and deliverables rather than vague qualities like “experience” or “trust”, which every consultant will claim.
Why choosing well is harder than it looks
With a doctor, lawyer or architect, a registration number tells you something. With Vastu, it does not exist. Schools and teachers differ, some practices mix in astrology or sell remedies, and online reviews rarely tell you what was actually measured. An online assessment uses traditional Vastu only, the 16-zone map and the 3×3 grid drawn on your plan; geopathic stress readings need a site visit.
So the useful question is not “is this person qualified?” but “can this person explain clearly what they will do, why, and what I will receive?” A good Vastu consultant welcomes those questions.
Check 1: Ask what framework they use
“I studied traditional Vastu” is a starting point, not an answer. Ask how an assessment is structured: what is measured, how the centre is found, how many zones are used and how findings are documented.
A consultant who can describe a repeatable method, step by step, is generally a stronger choice than one whose advice seems to change from house to house without clear reasoning. Our own approach is set out on the methodology page so that clients can check it before booking.
Check 2: Ask how they measure direction
Every Vastu recommendation depends on direction, so measurement is not a detail. Ask:
- Do you take readings at more than one point, away from metal and wiring?
- Do you correct magnetic north to true north for declination?
- How do you find the centre of an irregular plan?
- How many zones do you work with, and how wide is each one?
Magnetic declination is the angle between magnetic and true north, and it varies by place. Anyone can look it up on the NOAA magnetic declination calculator. A consultant who has never heard of it is relying on rough readings.
Check 3: Ask how they separate tradition from measurement
Different schools of Vastu genuinely disagree on some specifics. A transparent consultant will tell you which tradition they follow and why, and will be clear about which statements come from classical texts and which come from readings taken in your building.
In our own reports we use two labels. Traditional guidance: what the classical texts, such as the Aparajitaprccha and the wider Vishvakarma tradition, say about a direction or element. What we measure: what the compass, the plan and, where possible, a Lecher Antenna show on your site. That separation lets you judge each recommendation on its own merits.
Check 4: Ask whether you get a written report
A verbal walk-through is easy to forget and hard to share with an architect, interior designer or family member. A written report with a zone map, room-by-room observations and ranked recommendations is a different and more useful deliverable.
Ask to see a sample before you book. Ours is on the sample Vastu report page, and the full report is delivered within 48 hours of the assessment.
Check 5: Ask how they handle existing buildings
Most people consult on a home or office that already exists, often rented or financed with a loan. Some consultants default to structural change: shift the kitchen, rebuild the staircase, move the main door. That is rarely practical.
Ask directly: “How would you approach this if we cannot break any walls?” A practitioner with a zero-demolition-first approach will talk about room use, furniture placement, storage, colour, lighting and decluttering. Our article on zero-demolition corrections gives examples. Where something genuinely needs construction, a good consultant says so plainly rather than hiding it.
Check 6: Be cautious of guaranteed outcomes
Vastu is a traditional practice. A responsible consultant presents recommendations as traditional interpretation and practitioner guidance, not as guaranteed financial, health or relationship results.
Be wary of anyone who promises that a change will bring a promotion, cure an illness or save a marriage. Those claims cannot be honestly made by anyone, and they are often a lead-in to selling something.
Check 7: Ask whether they sell products
Ask plainly whether the consultant sells remedies, objects, crystals, pyramids or yantras, or takes commission from builders or suppliers. There is nothing wrong with asking. If the answer is yes, it does not automatically mean bad advice, but you should know about the incentive.
For clarity: Vardhini Vastu sells no products and takes no commission from builders. The consultation fee is the only payment.
Check 8: Ask about fees, scope and turnaround
A clear answer on cost, what is included and when you will receive the report is a fair question before booking. Vague pricing, or fees that rise once the consultant is on site, are warning signs.
Our fees are published on the consultation fees page: online anywhere ₹5,000, a Bangalore apartment or row house ₹15,000, a Bangalore villa or independent house ₹25,000, and commercial or industrial work from ₹51,000.
A useful test question
Ask a candidate how they would handle a common, specific problem, such as a kitchen in the north-east of an apartment you cannot renovate. Listen for a concrete answer: where the stove might sit within the room, which direction the cook might face, how light and colour could help, what to keep out of that corner.
A specific answer shows working knowledge. A general reassurance that “it can be fixed”, with no detail, tells you very little about the Vastu advice you would receive.
Red flags to watch for
- Advice given over the phone without seeing a plan or a compass reading
- Insistence on demolition for every issue
- Pressure to buy remedies or objects from the consultant
- Promises of guaranteed outcomes
- No written report, or a report that is generic rather than about your property
- Mixing astrology or horoscopes into what is presented as a Vastu assessment, without telling you
Questions to ask on the first call
If you prefer a short script, these questions cover most of the checks above:
- What steps does your assessment follow?
- How do you find true north and the centre?
- Will I receive a written report, and when?
- How do you correct issues without demolition?
- Do you sell any products or take any commissions?
- What exactly is included in the fee?
Write down the answers. Comparing two or three consultants on the same questions makes the choice much clearer.
Where Vardhini Vastu fits
We would rather you choose carefully than choose us by default. For what it is worth, Raghavendra Hebbur has more than ten years of practice in Bangalore, uses the VIDS 16-zone method with zones of about 22.5 degrees measured from true north, uses a Lecher Antenna for geopathic stress on site visits, and studies the Aparajitaprccha directly. More about the practice is on the about Vardhini Vastu page and the Vastu consultant in Bangalore page.
Online or onsite: does it change who you choose?
If your property is outside the consultant’s city, you will probably work online, so the checks shift slightly. Ask what they need from you, how they verify your compass reading, whether they follow up with a call, and what an online report includes compared with a site visit. An honest consultant will tell you what online cannot do, such as a geopathic stress reading, rather than claiming the two are identical in every respect.
Our article on online vs onsite consultations sets out those differences in detail.
After the consultation: signs you chose well
A good choice usually shows up after the visit, not during it. You should understand why each recommendation was made. You should be able to act on most of them yourself within a few weeks, without builders. The report should talk about your rooms, your door and your centre, not about homes in general. And if you call back with a question months later, the answer should still be consistent with what you were told the first time.
If those things are true, you have found a consultant worth keeping, whoever it is.
Next step
Now that you know how to choose a Vastu consultant, put the questions to anyone you are considering, us included. If you would like to understand the process first, read what a Vastu consultation involves; when you are ready, you can book a consultation or ask a question first.
