Week One: the ordered checklist

BEFORE CLOSING (1–2 weeks out). 1. Confirm which WATER utility serves the address — MPW (843) 884-9626 or Charleston Water (843) 727-6800 — and ask the seller's agent to confirm the seller has filed a stop-service request with MPW, because MPW will not start your account until that closes the old one. 2. Confirm which ELECTRIC utility serves the address by running it through berkeleyelectric.coop/service-territory; if it is not green, it is Dominion. Do not skip this in 29466. 3. Check natural gas availability at the address on Dominion's gas lookup. 4. Order internet by exact address; installation appointments are the longest lead time on this list, often a week or more. CLOSING WEEK. 5. Start water/sewer — MPW online or (843) 884-9626; allow two business days, budget the $100 deposit if you have no three-year positive history with MPW, plus the $75 new account fee. 6. Start electric and gas — Dominion 800-251-7234, or Berkeley Electric 1-800-327-9615 if you are in co-op territory; have your SSN and driver's licence number ready. 7. Confirm the internet install date. KEYS WEEK. 8. Call Town Waste Management (843) 849-2022 to confirm your subdivision's collection day and that a Town roll cart is at the house — first cart free, second $70, and only Town-issued carts are collected. 9. Request the 95-gallon County recycling cart at charlestoncounty.gov/departments/environmental-management/recycle-bins.php and look up your biweekly day on the County GIS map. 10. Set the 7:00 a.m. curbside rule in your head now — both Town and County collections use it. FIRST 45 DAYS, and this is the clock that costs money. 11. Update your auto insurer to the SC address with a carrier licensed in SC. 12. Call the Charleston County Auditor (843) 958-4200 with each vehicle's VIN to generate a tax bill; run the Tax Estimator first so the amount is not a surprise. 13. Pay the bill at the County Treasurer and keep the original paid receipt. 14. Register the vehicles at SCDMV with the paid receipt, out-of-state title, Form 400, ID and insurance — $305 published per vehicle plus the county tax. 15. Transfer your driver's licence within 45 days ($25, eight-year licence); bring two proofs of SC address for REAL ID and expect to surrender the out-of-state card. 16. Update voter registration at scvotes.gov. ONLY IF IT APPLIES. 17. Running anything from the house — even a laptop-only consulting practice — start with the Business License Division at (843) 849-2786 and read Zoning Code § 156.450 before you advertise. ONE MORE, ASK YOUR OWN PROFESSIONAL. 18. South Carolina taxes an owner-occupied primary residence at a lower assessment ratio than a second home, and the application is filed with the county, not automatic on transfer. That filing was outside the scope of what was verified for this brief — ask the Charleston County Assessor's Office directly, early, because the deadline is annual and missing it is expensive.