Tom is the President & CEO of Oz Realtors®, which he founded in 2004. He is not just a local Realtor®. He is also a lawyer (no longer practicing law) who has been a business owner and in business in Maryland, DC and Puerto Rico since 1974. He is a former County Commissioner, a Notary Public and has lecture nationwide. Since forming Oz Realtors® his full-time work has been as a Realtor®.
Tom is an active member of the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), the Maryland Association of Realtors (MAR) and the Greater Capitol Area Association of Realtors® (GCAAR). He serves on the Policy Committee for GCAAR and is a senior regional representative of HouseValues.com and JustListed.com Alliance network. Tom became a Certified Distress Property Expert® back in 2008.
As a dedicated real estate professional, Tom is more qualified than most others in the business to guide you in buying or selling a home.
Tom uses all his knowledge and skills in contracts, finance, law, marketing and negotiation to your best advantage.
LOCAL EXPERTISE
Born in January 1951, Tom is not a youngster. He is a life-long resident of the Washington, D.C. Suburbs – growing up in big family (3 brothers and 3 sisters) in Bethesda. He married in 1975 and lived in Laurel until 2004 when he moved back to the Olney / Ashton / Sandy Spring area of Montgomery County.
Tom received his diploma from Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, D.C. in 1969; achieved a Bachelor of Arts degree (with 3 minors) from Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland in 1973 and earned his Juris Doctorate degree from the International School of Law in Washington, D.C. in 1976. (The school, founded in 1972, later moved to Arlington, Virginia, where it became George Mason University School of Law in 1979.)
After passing the bar exam, Tom became an attorney with the U.S. Department of State, but soon became very frustrated working with the bureaucracy and inefficiency. Within two years he left the government to open a private practice. In 1984 he partnered with the late Edward H. Jasen, forming the Law Offices of Jasen & Kennedy and, in 1993, formed The Kennedy Group Companies to work with his father, Walter P. Kennedy, when he retired from the U.S. House of Representatives.
Tom is the past President of two (2) Homeowners Associations -- Woodbridge Crossing in Laurel and Ashton Preserve in the Sandy Spring-Silver Spring area, and has been on the Ashton Preserve HOA Board of Directors since May 2004 after 6 years at the previous HOA.
In addition, as a Senior Regional Representative for HouseValues and JustListed since 2006, I prepare more than 2 dozen Comparative Market Analysis ("CMA") for homeowners each month, and have helped scores of home buyers buy their homes.
Because of his schooling, work and decades-long involvement in local politics, Tom knows Maryland cities and towns, as well as our neighborhoods, schools, local economy and market conditions.
Tom offers you seasoned local expertise in a home market that has become more complex in recent years. He tailors that to meet your needs, and will do the leg work for you, keeping you up-to-date with new listings and conditions as they impact the market. Tom will make the process as pleasurable and stress-free an experience for you as possible.
INTEGRITY
Buying or selling a home is one of the biggest and most important financial transactions in the lives of most people. Because of that, it is important that you work with someone you trust to best represent you and your interests – not just any real estate agent or “a friend of a friend.”
You should want a true market expert with integrity. Few will give you that. Very few can give you that.
In all his years in business since 1976, Tom has represented thousands of people who have trusted him with their interests and most-valuable assets. You will find that Tom is among the best of all active real estate agents.
It's an enormous responsibility which Tom takes very seriously.
SUCCESS
Though Tom has received his share over the years, he doesn't measure success through awards or achievements but, rather, through the satisfaction of his clients.
When all is said and done, he knows that your success is his success.
Whether you are looking to buy or sell your home, Tom will give you sound advice and guidance upon which you can rely.