FREE: Harborside Resort at Atlantis - 1 BR Floating Week - Fees Current - Disabled Vet Giving Away...

[Harborside]

Hello TUG Community,


I am giving away my deeded, paid-in-full timeshare at the Harborside Resort at Atlantis (Vistana/Marriott network). I purchased this property in 2012, there is absolutely no mortgage, and my annual maintenance fees are completely current.


Why am I giving it away?

I am a disabled veteran (can provide proof of disability). Due to my worsening medical issues and physical limitations, I can no longer handle international travel to the Bahamas. Rather than letting this sit unused, I want to pass it along to a someone who can use it.


Ownership Details:

• Resort: Harborside Resort at Atlantis (Bahamas)
• Unit Size: 1-Bedroom Villa
• Week Type: Floating / Flex Week (High flexibility for booking)
• Current Status: Account in perfect standing, 2026 fees ($2,694.68) all paid and up to date.
• Major Perk: Ownership includes free Atlantis waterpark wristbands for guests during your stay.

The Deal:

The timeshare is 100% free ($0 purchase price). I am looking for a responsible buyer to legally take over the deed and the future annual maintenance fee obligations.


To make this as seamless as possible, I am willing to pay the transfer and closing fees (using a reputable, TUG-approved independent closing company like LT Transfers) to have the deed transferred to the new owner.


Please PM (Private Message) me if you are interested or have any questions. I can provide account verification paperwork upon request.


That’s it. Thank you for your time!


Joe

 

[chapjim]

There's a Free Timeshares Forum about four lines down from where you posted this.

@DeniseM please move.

 

[CPNY]

Hello TUG Community,


I am giving away my deeded, paid-in-full timeshare at the Harborside Resort at Atlantis (Vistana/Marriott network). I purchased this property in 2012, there is absolutely no mortgage, and my annual maintenance fees are completely current.


Why am I giving it away?

I am a disabled veteran (can provide proof of disability). Due to my worsening medical issues and physical limitations, I can no longer handle international travel to the Bahamas. Rather than letting this sit unused, I want to pass it along to a someone who can use it.


Ownership Details:

• Resort: Harborside Resort at Atlantis (Bahamas)
• Unit Size: 1-Bedroom Villa
• Week Type: Floating / Flex Week (High flexibility for booking)
• Current Status: Account in perfect standing, 2026 fees ($2,694.68) all paid and up to date.
• Major Perk: Ownership includes free Atlantis waterpark wristbands for guests during your stay.

The Deal:

The timeshare is 100% free ($0 purchase price). I am looking for a responsible buyer to legally take over the deed and the future annual maintenance fee obligations.


To make this as seamless as possible, I am willing to pay the transfer and closing fees (using a reputable, TUG-approved independent closing company like LT Transfers) to have the deed transferred to the new owner.


Please PM (Private Message) me if you are interested or have any questions. I can provide account verification paperwork upon request.


That’s it. Thank you for your time!


Joe

Thank you for your service to our Nation. You probably wont find anyone here with a knowledge of timeshares to take your HRA unit (Great resort, I love it, own it, etc) Its just the high fees are a deterrent. You may want to list this in other timeshare groups on other social media platforms as well as the free timeshare section here. Good luck!

 

[Harborside]

Thank you - I'm trying all possibilities... I was also told to list on Redweek...

 

[TUGBrian]

I hope you find a taker so you can avoid having to just walk away and stop paying

 

[Harborside]

I won't be walking away from it. It is still a useful thing to have which I can allow my family to use. It's a floating week (I can get any holiday - Christmas, etc); it can be traded in/out of the program; it can be converted to points - and maybe some other things I cant think of right now. It would definitely be worth it to keep it if I traveled more. Right now I am giving it to family for free... Also, I heard that you can damage your credit if you simply walk away from it. I don't want to do that. Like I say, it has 'value' even with with higher maintenance fees, but you get top tier resorts and the other options I already mentioned. I think it could be worth it to a family with children (Bahamas, Disney, etc) or someone who makes income from owning multiple timeshares that knows how to make it work to their advantage. If I can't give it away I will just keep it. I don't want to hurt my credit.

 

[emeryjre]

You have offered to pay transfer fees
In the case of a Harborside Unit, the transfer must take place using a Bahamian attorney
Those fees are substantially higher that a transfer of other Vistana/Marriott Timeshares
The transfer fees could be higher than your yearly maintenance fees

Just letting you know now, so you are not taken by surprise later in the process

 

[Harborside]

Okay. Thank you. I'm trying everything I can to make it easy for someone who is seriously interested...

 

[Patri]

We have not heard of anyone having their credit score take a hit.

 

[Harborside]

We have not heard of anyone having their credit score take a hit.

I have heard mixed opinions on this. I would want to work with a company that specializes in doing that as a last resort. I am hoping to find someone who could make it work to their benefit.

 

[CPNY]

I have heard mixed opinions on this. I would want to work with a company that specializes in doing that as a last resort. I am hoping to find someone who could make it work to their benefit.

you dont work with anyone. just stop paying and deal with years of phone calls and threatening letters

 

[travel maniac]

I have heard mixed opinions on this. I would want to work with a company that specializes in doing that as a last resort. I am hoping to find someone who could make it work to their benefit.

Please DON'T contact any company - all they'll do is take your money and STILL leave the timeshare with you.

 

[Patri]

I have heard mixed opinions on this. I would want to work with a company that specializes in doing that as a last resort. I am hoping to find someone who could make it work to their benefit.

Opinions or facts? We have heard from so many people who walked away. If the resort doesn’t want it back, that tells you how valuable it is. You can get rid of it yourself for low/no cost.
Yes, stopping payment goes against the grain of how many of us were raised. But the timeshare industry is a whole different animal. You are nothing to them.

 

[CPNY]

Opinions or facts? We have heard from so many people who walked away. If the resort doesn’t want it back, that tells you how valuable it is. You can get rid of it yourself for low/no cost.
Yes, stopping payment goes against the grain of how many of us were raised. But the timeshare industry is a whole different animal. You are nothing to them.

True we are nothing to them, BUT walking away does not hurt the resort as much as it hurts the existing owners.

 

[Patri]

True we are nothing to them, BUT walking away does not hurt the resort as much as it hurts the existing owners.

Yep. Resorts need to change their policies.

 

[Harborside]

Opinions or facts? We have heard from so many people who walked away. If the resort doesn’t want it back, that tells you how valuable it is. You can get rid of it yourself for low/no cost.
Yes, stopping payment goes against the grain of how many of us were raised. But the timeshare industry is a whole different animal. You are nothing to them.

I tend to agree with what you are saying. It feels like they have mismanaged the resorts finances to such an extent that maintenance fees are becoming unreasonable. It has having an impact on timeshare owners. I would be interested in speaking with someone from a Harborside timeshare who 'walked away'. Obviously that is not my intention, but as the resort would likely say to my wanting to give it back "We're sorry, it's nothing personal, its just business... you understand".

 

[CPNY]

I tend to agree with what you are saying. It feels like they have mismanaged the resorts finances to such an extent that maintenance fees are becoming unreasonable. It has having an impact on timeshare owners. I would be interested in speaking with someone from a Harborside timeshare who 'walked away'. Obviously that is not my intention, but as the resort would likely say to my wanting to give it back "We're sorry, it's nothing personal, its just business... you understand".

Im not sure how much of the resort is mismanaged as it is the VAT, Atlantis Facilities Fee, and Club Dues that drive up the cost of the Maint fees each year.

 

[Harborside]

These are all things the management needs to negotiate in order to keep the resort vibrant and flourishing. Whoever is overcharging is just going to hurt themselves in the long run when the resort declares bankruptcy due to its inability to keep owners or sell/resell timeshares. It's funny, several years ago I watched a commercial on TV that featured Atlantis - it was a great commercial - everything looked great, the beaches, the restaurants, the water rides, it was really inspiring. We had already reserved our week for the following week and to our surprise, when we arrived, our favorite restaurant was closed, one of the beaches (which we liked) was closed, some of the water rides our daughter wanted to try was closed. It was disappointing and I let them know. You can't run a television commercial that shows everything active and open when you know it's not. I assume they were trying to save money by not paying employees to have these venues open. VERY disappointing and something I will never forget.

 

[gpj555]

Look out for yourself first. They will not take it back. You can not give it away. Leaves you only one option though it may be distasteful to you. Good Luck! Do not hire or pay anyone to rid you of this week. They are all a SCAM!

 

[Harborside]

Thanks. I am trying to prepare myself for the worst case scenario…

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I have heard mixed opinions on this. I would want to work with a company that specializes in doing that as a last resort.

Do not, under any circumstances hire any company that "specializes" in this sort of thing. They are all scams. Every single one of them. They will, at best, take thousands of dollars from you, and then just have you stop paying so that the timeshare ultimately forecloses on you (which is something you can do yourself!) That's the best case scenario. The worst case scenario is that some of them are literally criminals that will keep coming back to you for more and more money to try to bleed you dry. I know many of them have fancy commercials and slick websites. It doesn't change the fact that every single one of them is a scam. Thank you for your service to this country, please don't let yourself become a victim to a "timeshare exit scam."

The negative consequences to walking away from an international resort when you don't have a mortgate or loan outstanding are minimal to non-existent. The likelihood of some sort of credit hit for unpaid maintenance fees is extremely unlikely, and even if there is one, it is going to be minimal. You can also contest these with the credit rating agencies fairly easily (but again, I don't think you will have to, because it is unlikely that this will get reported to a CA in the first place).

WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT HIRE SOMEONE TO HELP YOU WITH THIS!

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I tend to agree with what you are saying. It feels like they have mismanaged the resorts finances to such an extent that maintenance fees are becoming unreasonable. It has having an impact on timeshare owners.

The resort is in a timeshare "death spiral." It happens all the time with older resorts. As maintenance fees increase, more owners default, which causes the bad debt to be distributed amongst the remaining owners via maintenance fee increases, which causes more owners to default. Rinse and repeat. Again, if you can't give this away, I strongly strongly advise that you just walk away. I think it's extremely likely this resort goes into bankruptcy in the next 10 years.

 

[Harborside]

The resort is in a timeshare "death spiral." It happens all the time with older resorts. As maintenance fees increase, more owners default, which causes the bad debt to be distributed amongst the remaining owners via maintenance fee increases, which causes more owners to default. Rinse and repeat. Again, if you can't give this away, I strongly strongly advise that you just walk away. I think it's extremely likely this resort goes into bankruptcy in the next 10 years.

If they go into bankruptcy, would that give me a legal 'out' of my timeshare?

 

[Harborside]

Do not, under any circumstances hire any company that "specializes" in this sort of thing. They are all scams. Every single one of them. They will, at best, take thousands of dollars from you, and then just have you stop paying so that the timeshare ultimately forecloses on you (which is something you can do yourself!) That's the best case scenario. The worst case scenario is that some of them are literally criminals that will keep coming back to you for more and more money to try to bleed you dry. I know many of them have fancy commercials and slick websites. It doesn't change the fact that every single one of them is a scam. Thank you for your service to this country, please don't let yourself become a victim to a "timeshare exit scam."

The negative consequences to walking away from an international resort when you don't have a mortgate or loan outstanding are minimal to non-existent. The likelihood of some sort of credit hit for unpaid maintenance fees is extremely unlikely, and even if there is one, it is going to be minimal. You can also contest these with the credit rating agencies fairly easily (but again, I don't think you will have to, because it is unlikely that this will get reported to a CA in the first place).

WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT HIRE SOMEONE TO HELP YOU WITH THIS!

Are there any guardrails about how much (percentage) they can increase maintenance fees each year?

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

If they go into bankruptcy, would that give me a legal 'out' of my timeshare?

It would, yes. However, you'd continue paying maintenance fees until that happens, and while I think it's extremely likely to happen, that could still be years off and many more maintenance fees.

Edit: Actually, I want to take issue with the framing here of a "legal" way out. There is nothing "illegal" about simply walking away.