Real Estate Assets Discontinued operation (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended					9 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2012 Greens of Pine Glen [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 churchland [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Residences at Weatherford [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Residences at Weatherford [Member]	Mar. 31, 2011 Residences at Weatherford [Member] Unit	Dec. 31, 2012 Eagle Ridge [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Boston Capital Limited Partners [Member] Greens of Pine Glen [Member] limited	Sep. 30, 2012 Boston Capital Limited Partners [Member] Greens of Pine Glen [Member] limited
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Available-for-sale Securities, at Par Value	$ 146,806,203	$ 145,907,502		$ 9,500,000
Proceeds from Sale of Available-for-sale Securities	31,872,522	0	0	7,300,000
Undistributed Net Realized Gain (Loss) on Sale of Properties				1,500,000
Limited Partners										2	2
Available-for-Sale Securities, Asset Ownership				100.00%
Limited Partners' Capital Account	207,383,087	154,911,228		3,200,000
business disposal, sales price				7,300,000	8,100,000				2,500,000
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals, Gain (Loss) on Sale or Disposal, Net of Tax					1,300,000				126,000
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate, Interest Rate						5.90%
Construction Loan, Maturity Date at a point in time						Jul. 28, 2015
Loans Payable, Noncurrent							6,400,000
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents, Current	$ 5,471,522	$ 12,904,361				$ 500,000
Number of Units in Real Estate Property								76