Free moving guide
The Aquidneck Island
moving checklist.
Print it. Put it in the car. Check boxes with a pen like it's 1997 — it works better.
No email needed to read it. When you want a local conversation, get matched.
Before you move
- Visited each town 3 times: weekday morning, late afternoon, weekend night
- Wrote each town's "annoying part" — and decided I can live with mine
- Non-negotiables listed (separate from nice-to-haves, which will betray me at a water view)
- Lender pre-approval done — real numbers, not calculator numbers
- Asked lender/insurer early about coastal and flood implications
House-hunting (ask at every showing)
- Sewer or septic/cesspool? Records seen, not just told?
- Flood map checked for this exact address?
- Historic, zoning, or rental rules for this property confirmed?
- Parking pictured honestly — August, with guests?
- System ages and service history written down?
- Street re-visited at a different hour than the showing?
Offer to close
- Representation confirmed in writing — who works for whom
- Inspection booked, attended, explained in plain English and in writing
- Wastewater, flood, and permit answers verified from official sources
- One folder (paper or digital) holds every document
- Read everything before signing it. Everything.
Arrival + first month
- Utilities on, trash/recycling days known, town registrations done
- Septic? Maintenance schedule in writing; records filed forever
- Address updated: post office, bank, insurers, Rhode Island services
- Street learned at loud, dark, and busy hours
- One neighbor met (island knowledge beats search results)
- Six-month reminder set to re-verify anything rule-based
Verify the rule-based stuff: flood — FEMA Flood Map Service Center (msc.fema.gov) · wastewater — RI DEM (dem.ri.gov) · town rules — Newport / Middletown / Portsmouth departments · state regulations — rules.sos.ri.gov · agency — RI DBR (dbr.ri.gov).
AquidneckIslandHomes.com is an independent guide, not a real estate brokerage. This checklist is not representation, an appraisal, or a loan offer. It's a good list.