External Environment
The external environment is an important factor in determining the feng shui of a house or a building.  If the environment in the surrounding areas of the property you plan to purchase, looking at the house itself will be a waste of your time because no matter how excellent the facing or floor plan of the house is, you, as the occupant, will still be plagued with bad luck due to the destructive energy present outside of your home.

The characteristics of the environment are the strongest determinants of the feng shui of the house/property because they carry the energy of nature. 

Things you should look for when evaluating the external environment of a property are:  1) finding support and avoiding shar qi.

The key points to consider when looking for protection are:

* make sure the house/building is surrounded by all four guardian landforms.

* if you cannot find a house/building with all four guardian landforms, you should at least have the Black Tortoise.  Make sure the Black Tortoise is not too close to the house.

* do not live in a house built on a slope or one that is situated on top of a ridge or a mountain.

* the house/building should have the feel of having something for it to lean against.
Finding Support

Make sure that the house/building has protection.  The four protectors in the surrounding environment you should look for are the: 1) Green Dragon (left); 2) White Tiger (right); 3) Black Tortoise (back); and 4) Red Phoenix (front). 

These four protective features are identified with reference to the position of the observer and are named after four guardian animals from Chinese mythology.  What follows are example of these 'protectors.' 

Black Tortoise - Mountains, Buildings (taller than your house), or trees located at the back of your home/building.

Red Phoenix - a circular garden, a pond, a road with slow moving traffic.

Green Dragon - a fence with ivy growing on it, bushes, or low trees.

White Tiger - a fence, another house (should not be higher than the green dragon) or a white stone.  Another good example of a white tiger is a building painted white
Remember not to rent or buy a house or apartment located near a cemetery or a church.
A house built on a cliff may look nice and a dream house for some, but as far as Feng Shui is concern, this house will bring the residents bad luck.
For more examples of what to avoid, click here.