Transactions with Affiliates (Details) (USD $)			9 Months Ended					9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012 Director [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Director [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Chairman of Board of Resource America [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Affiliates [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Affiliates [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Chairman of Board of Atlas Energy, L.P. [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Rent expense			$ 228,000	$ 223,000	$ 77,000			$ 14,000
Deposits						47,100,000	88,800,000
Due from related parties	31,500,000	32,400,000
Payments to acquire available-for-sale securities, debt					$ 35,800,000