Cave & Associates – from computers to homes to office buildings
Cave & Associates is the reflection of its founder, Sam Cave, a fair-minded, detail-oriented, personable guy who knows the real estate business inside and out.
A family business and a business family
It was quite a leap from Sam’s start as a computer engineer at Univac to building homes, but that was what Sam did for 25 years as Ed Cave & Sons, Inc. Sam’s transition into commercial real estate came in the early ‘70s, propelled by a tough real estate market and the availability of his own land on which to build. Sam constructed four office buildings. Once the buildings were built and tenant-ready, Sam managed them. He was the outside man; his wife Diane worked inside, taking care of the books and the office. Cave & Associates, Ltd. was born in 1991 as Sam and Diane added to their property holdings.
With a growing client base built on Sam’s highly personalized approach to client and property care, he began to add to his team. Sam met Craig Ankrum ice fishing on Lake Vermillion, liked his work ethic and attitude, and brought him on board in 1993. Like Sam, Craig took on any task; he was vigilant about details and passionate about client service. He eventually earned his real estate license and the position of Operations Manager, overseeing the entire company from leasing, space planning and build outs, to maintenance and improvements.
Meanwhile, Sam bought six more buildings and recruited Craig’s future wife, Barb, to help out. Barb had been a licensed residential realtor for 7 years. Part-time became full-time and Barb eventually became Property Manager for Sam’s holdings.
Personalized care and appreciation – Sam’s credo
Over the past five years, the company has moved beyond its own properties, adding leasing, construction and build out services for other commercial property owners. Today, it has 14 employees and four licensed agents. Sam’s credo of client care and appreciation extends to employees too. The average employee has been with Cave & Associates seven to 12 years. Several tenants have been a part of the Cave family since the ‘70s; most others have enjoyed Cave’s tenant picnics and holiday parties for five to 10 years.
As Sam would say, “We’ll take care of you. We do what we say we’ll do. You can trust us.”, and it works.
