Half of applications at Þórkötlu approved by the end of this week

The board of Þórkötlu has now approved the purchase of 263 properties in Grindavík and the owners of the properties concerned have received confirmation to that effect. The approved applications have been sent to the purchase agreement, which may take up to ten working days.

The total amount of transactions approved by the board of Þórkötlu amounts to approximately ISK 20 billion. The aim is to approve the purchase of 100 more assets this week, and then approve more than half of all applications received by Þórkötlu. A total of 732 applications have been received.

Agreements with lenders were finally finalized this weekend, which allows Þórkötlu to handle more cases than before. It is attempted to make the process work faster, but it is expected that there will be issues that need to be examined more closely and it will then take longer to complete the purchase. For example, in some cases, the fire-exempt assessment of property has increased significantly since November, which requires closer examination. There are also examples of properties being registered as unfinished and not receiving a final audit, although several years have passed since their construction. The completion of Þórkötlu’s purchase of property in Grindavík has been carried out electronically, with an electronic purchase agreement and electronic registration. About thirty people are involved in the company’s work somehow, but the project is being carried out in cooperation with several institutions.

“We are taking over these properties from Grindvíkingur now, but the goal is that those who want to can repurchase them later. Previous owners can buy them on the same terms or 95% of the fire insurance assessment stipulated by the regulation. We are also assuming that people can rent them from us in the meantime. We hope to cooperate with the community on these issues,” says Örn Viðar Skúlason, CEO of the company.