Marcia Kaufman
Chief Executive Officer of Bayport Funding
Marcia Kaufman is the Chief Executive Officer of Bayport Funding, a direct bridge lender for real estate developers and investors. She leads the firm’s strategy, capital partnerships, and national growth.
Over more than 30 years in mortgage banking and real estate, she has held senior leadership roles at American Home Mortgage Ventures, Preferred Empire Mortgage Company, Bank of America, and Arbor National Mortgage.
She has also worked as an investor and borrower, experience that gave her direct insight into the client’s perspective. She owned a real estate investment and brokerage firm, Select Mortgage, and following the 2008 crisis she acquired, rehabilitated, and sold distressed properties.
Today she leads a true balance sheet lender that has originated more than $2.2 billion and funds in as little as 72 hours.
30+ years in mortgage banking and real estate | Senior leadership at American Home Mortgage Ventures, Preferred Empire Mortgage, Bank of America, and Arbor National Mortgage | Founder, real estate investment and brokerage firm
Leadership at Bayport Funding
Kaufman leads one of the country’s most active direct bridge lenders. Bayport originates on its own balance sheet, underwrites in-house, and asset manages every loan it makes, which is what allows the firm to fund in as little as 72 hours.
Bayport remains front-facing throughout the life of every loan, which is why borrowers return deal after deal.
“The investors who will win this cycle are the ones who can move quickly today while staying disciplined for tomorrow. At Bayport Funding, we know that speed to capital is a competitive edge.”
Three Decades in Mortgage Banking and Real Estate
Kaufman developed her expertise across the full breadth of mortgage banking and real estate. She held senior leadership roles at American Home Mortgage Ventures, Preferred Empire Mortgage Company, Bank of America, and Arbor National Mortgage, and she subsequently operated her own real estate investment and brokerage firm.
That breadth is what distinguishes her. She has worked every phase of a transaction, from valuation and development through asset management and exit strategy. Her experience in financial lending provided her with a deep understanding of borrowers’ goals, financing needs, and the factors that contribute to successful transactions.
Reinvention After the 2008 Crisis
In 2008, the financial crisis dismantled the mortgage banking industry almost overnight. Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns failed, and both Countrywide and American Home Mortgage disappeared. Kaufman, who had spent two decades in the industry, moved decisively toward the opportunity the disruption created.
With banks holding large inventories of foreclosed properties and neighborhoods accumulating vacant homes, she began acquiring distressed assets, rehabilitating them, and returning them to market as move-in-ready homes. That work helped restore neighborhood stability and reopen a path to ownership.
The experience also made her a borrower. Having secured capital and executed projects herself, she joined Bayport with a firsthand understanding of the borrower’s position.
“Disruption at that scale teaches you that expertise is portable if you’re willing to reframe it. My two decades in mortgage banking became the foundation for a sharper, more entrepreneurial chapter.”
Credentials and Recognition
Kaufman is also a recognized authority on lending standards. In an October 2025 Mortgage Professional America feature on fraud in commercial lending, she explained how Bayport’s disciplined underwriting and borrower vetting protected its portfolio while other lenders pursued volume at the expense of credit quality.
“Open communication and proactive due diligence,” she said, “are essential for preventing fraud before it starts.”
Areas of Expertise
Kaufman’s expertise spans real estate valuation, development, asset management, and exit strategy. Having served as investor, borrower, and lender, she addresses market conditions and lending strategy from an uncommon vantage point.
Marcia Kaufman is the Chief Executive Officer of Bayport Funding, a direct bridge lender with more than $2.2 billion in originations serving real estate developers and investors across 36 states. With over three decades in mortgage banking and real estate, she writes on market conditions, lending strategy, and what it takes for developers to execute successfully in a fast-moving capital environment.
