What Was Checked and How
Each community's own pricing, FAQ, or fee-disclosure page was reviewed directly — not a secondary aggregator or a search-engine summary. Where a page could not be accessed (some returned an access error, and a small number rate-limited repeated requests), that is reported as such rather than filled in with an estimate. Every figure below is dated to when it was verified: September 2026.
Communities That Publish a Full Mandatory Fee Schedule
- Camellia at One Nexton (Summerville) — $147.12/month combined: internet service ($75), doorstep trash ($35), a community amenity fee ($25), pest control ($7), and a utility billing administrative fee ($5.12). One-time: a $15 utility account fee at move-in, $15 at move-out.
- The One at Columbia — $126.06/month combined: internet service ($75), pest control ($5), doorstep trash ($25), trash hauling ($15), and a utility billing administrative fee ($6.06). See the $17 fee callout below for its one-time-versus-monthly resolution.
- Eastwood (Ladson) — $47.12/month combined: pest control ($7), doorstep trash ($30), trash hauling ($5), and a utility billing administrative fee ($5.12). One-time: $17 at move-in, $17 at move-out.
- The Ames Nexton (Summerville) — $42/month combined: valet trash ($35) and pest control ($7). One-time move-in costs: a $75-per-person application fee, a $250 administrative fee, a $100-per-person community fee, and a $15 technology fee; security deposit starts at $300.
- Covey Homes Wescott (Summerville, build-to-rent) — a single bundled "LiveMORE" package at $115/month covering smart-home technology, landscaping, trash service, and pest control. One-time: $75 application fee, $250 administrative fee, deposit $650-750 by bedroom count.
The $17 Fee at The One at Columbia: One-Time, Not Monthly
A figure like this is easy to mischaracterize when it gets summarized secondhand. The community's own pricing page states it in full: "Utility - New Account Fee $17.00 per unit One-time, due at move-in." A separate $17.00 "Utility - Final Bill Fee" applies at move-out — also one-time. Neither is a recurring monthly charge. Where a fee's timing matters as much as its amount, the primary source is worth reading in full rather than trusting a summary of it.
When "Total Monthly Price" Isn't the Same as Rent
ABODE at Summers Corner (Summerville, build-to-rent) advertises its Flynn floor plan with two figures: a "Total Monthly Price" of $2,475-2,510/month and a "Base Rent" of $2,310-2,345/month. The gap is $165/month at both ends of the range — consistent, not incidental. The page states the difference covers "all mandatory monthly fees" without breaking out what they are, which means the $165 figure is itself the useful disclosure, even without an item-by-item breakdown.
Communities That Publish Rent but No Itemized Fees
Solay Carnes Crossroads and The Village at Carnes Crossroads (both Summerville-area) publish detailed starting rents by unit type but no mandatory fee schedule on their pricing pages as of September 2026. Slate Nexton publishes an application fee ($75), an administrative fee ($250), and a security deposit ($700), but no mandatory recurring monthly fee beyond rent. None of this means no fees apply — it means none are itemized on the page checked.
Communities That Publish Neither Rent Nor Fees
Two build-to-rent operators in Blythewood — Tricon Residential and Comet Communities — published no rent figure and no itemized fee schedule as of September 2026. Tricon's Blythewood page carries a general disclaimer ("some features are subject to additional one-time or recurring fees") with no amount attached; Comet Richland's site returned an access error on every page checked. In both cases, the only way to get current numbers is a direct inquiry to the leasing office.
Optional vs. Mandatory: A Distinction Worth Reading Closely
Covey Homes Wescott's page also mentions a "Rent Reporting" service at $8.95/month, explicitly described as optional rather than part of the mandatory LiveMORE package. Pet rent ($35/month per pet, where applicable) is similarly conditional rather than a base charge on every lease. A fee schedule is easiest to compare across communities when optional add-ons are read separately from what applies to every resident regardless of choice.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Which South Carolina apartment communities disclose mandatory fees beyond rent?
- Of 17 new-construction communities checked across Summerville, Nexton, Ladson, Blythewood, and Columbia in September 2026, four published a full itemized mandatory monthly fee schedule: Camellia at One Nexton ($147.12/month), The One at Columbia ($126.06/month), Eastwood in Ladson ($47.12/month), The Ames Nexton ($42/month), and Covey Homes Wescott ($115/month as a single bundled package). Several others published starting rent but no itemized fees, and two Blythewood build-to-rent operators published neither rent nor fees.
- Is the $17 fee at The One at Columbia a monthly or one-time charge?
- One-time. The community's own pricing page states it explicitly: "Utility - New Account Fee $17.00 per unit One-time, due at move-in." A separate $17.00 final-bill fee applies at move-out, also one-time. Neither recurs monthly.
- What does a "Total Monthly Price" figure include that base rent doesn't?
- At ABODE at Summers Corner, the advertised "Total Monthly Price" runs $165/month above the quoted base rent, consistently across the advertised range. The community's page states this gap covers "all mandatory monthly fees" without listing them individually — so the gap itself is the disclosed figure, even where the components aren't broken out.
- Why do some new-construction communities disclose nothing about fees?
- No fee disclosure requirement compels it in South Carolina. Some communities' pricing pages load rent and fee tables dynamically and were not visible in what could be reviewed; others, particularly two build-to-rent operators in Blythewood, published no pricing information at all as of September 2026, requiring a direct inquiry to the leasing office.