Our History
Rich
Vander Werff’s love of the auction business began when he attended livestock
auctions with his Grandpa Elgersma as a boy. It was this love that persuaded
Rich to attend the Riesch
Auction
College
in
Mason City,
Iowa, from which he
graduated in 1972 at the age of 18. Thus began Rich’s adventure into the
auction business. From 1972 to 1977, Rich continued to hold full-time jobs while
auctioning on the side. Shortly after his graduation from Reisch
Auction
College, he was able to
obtain a position auctioning livestock with the Northside Sales Company of
Sibley,
Iowa. Rich began his
auction business by selling “pound cows.”
In
1977, Rich obtained his real estate license and, along with Ray Youngers and Ron
Rensink, formed Rensink-Youngers Realty, Inc. The purpose of this corporation was
the sale of real estate and marketing the auction services provided by Rich. The
Rensink-Youngers Agency, also owned by Ray Youngers and Ron Rensink, was in the
insurance business, so Rich obtained an insurance license and began selling personal lines insurance as well. The company was already located at its current
building at 215 Main St, in Sanborn, Iowa; however the building
was only leased at the time. In 1980, at the request of his mentor and friend,
Hubert Schultz, a local attorney, Rich began to do appraisals on a very limited
basis. He began with no prior educational experience but only the desire to
succeed. In 1983, Rich, Ray Youngers, Ron Rensink, Dennis Brechwald, and Pat
Murphy formed a new business corporation called ARI Services Limited.
ARI stood for auctions, real estate, and insurance.
During this time, Rich attended classes and by correspondence with the
University of Indiana-Bloomington, he obtained a Certified Auctioneers Institute
Designation. This designation was
obtained in 1984. In 1985 the
business partnership of ARI Services Limited was dissolved and, while continuing
to operate out of the same building, Rich formed a new company, Vander Werff
Auctioneers. It was around this
time that Orlan Lux and Todd Hattermann joined the company as auctioneer
associates. In 1987 an auction
building was constructed at the newly acquired auction lot located east and
north of Sanborn. Rich had begun
running machinery consignment auctions in 1982.
From a historical perspective, the first sale consisted of eight
consignors with 32 pieces of machinery. A
recent machinery consignment sale brought in 1200 items from
over 200 plus consignors.
Vander
Werff Auctioneers continued its growth through the late 1980’s with the
addition of several real estate sales people.
Also the appraisal business begun by Rich in 1980 began to grow.
By this time appraisals were being completed for estates, individuals,
corporations, lenders, with the primary focus of the appraisal business being
residential and agricultural properties. In
1991 the federal government mandated the certification of appraisers.
In conjunction with this mandate, Rich obtained his Certified General
Real Property Appraiser Designation and License.
Also in 1991, Vander Werff Auctioneers purchased the building which had
already been their home for nearly twenty years.
The building was completely renovated to accommodate the company’s
growth. In October of 1993, Vander
Werff Auctioneers, Inc. changed their name to Vander Werff & Associates,
Inc. to more closely reflect the broadening nature of the business.
In 1995, additional renovation of the building occurred to accommodate
the business’ continued growth. By
1995 Vander Werff & Associates, Inc. was handling small commercial,
agricultural, complex agricultural, and residential property appraisals within a
fifteen county area of
Northwest Iowa
.
Real estate and auctions have also played a prominent role in the business
success of Vander Werff & Associates, Inc.
Additional staff was added to the Appraisal, Auction, and Real Estate
Divisions as growth continued. In
2001 additional building expansion occurred when Vander Werff & Associates,
Inc. purchased the adjacent building and renovated it for office space.
The company’s appraisal division now employs two Certified General Real
Property Appraisers, two Certified Residential Real Estate Property Appraisers,
and three associate appraisers. Vander
Werff & Associates, Inc. now handles residential, agricultural, complex
agricultural, and a full spectrum of commercial appraisal assignments in Iowa,
Minnesota,
South Dakota,
and Nebraska.
Presently in the real estate division there are seven licensed brokers
and agents. The Auction Division
employs three auctioneers. There is
also a support staff of over twenty individuals.
While some of the individuals perform more than one function within the
company, we are proud of the fact that Vander Werff & Associates, Inc. has
grown from Rich alone in 1972 to forty full and part-time positions today.
