Fair Value Of Securities Exchanged During Period

No definition available.

Name:	cim_FairValueOfSecuritiesExchangedDuringPeriod
Namespace Prefix:	cim_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Financing Receivable, Credit Quality, Alt-A Securities Underlying Collateral, FICO Score

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	cim_FinancingReceivableCreditQualityAltASecuritiesUnderlyingCollateralFICOScore
Namespace Prefix:	cim_
Data Type:	xbrli:pureItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Financing Receivable, Credit Quality, Alt A Securities Underlying Collateral of Full Documented Loans, Percent

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	cim_FinancingReceivableCreditQualityAltASecuritiesUnderlyingCollateralofFullDocumentedLoansPercent
Namespace Prefix:	cim_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

As of the balance sheet date, the percentage of the mortgages securing the RMBS that meet defined criteria to be categorized as Alt-A.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	cim_PercentageOfUnderlyingResidentialMBSOwnedDeemedToBeEquivalentToAltAQuality
Namespace Prefix:	cim_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

As of the balance sheet date, the percentage of the mortgages securing the RMBS that meet defined criteria to be categorized as prime.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	cim_PercentageOfUnderlyingResidentialMbsOwnedDeemedToBeEquivalentToPrimeQuality
Namespace Prefix:	cim_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount, before tax, of unrealized loss in accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI) on investment in debt security measured at fair value with change in fair value recognized in other comprehensive income (available-for-sale).

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 320
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (c)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118939692&loc=d3e27161-111563

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_AvailableForSaleDebtSecuritiesAccumulatedGrossUnrealizedLossBeforeTax
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The net realized gain (loss) on investments sold during the period, not including gains (losses) on securities separately or otherwise categorized as trading, available-for-sale, or held-to-maturity, which, for cash flow reporting, is a component of proceeds from investing activities.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 28
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118932676&loc=d3e3602-108585

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_GainLossOnSaleOfInvestments
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_InvestmentHoldingsLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_InvestmentTypeAxis=cim_AgencyPassThroughMortgageBackedSecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_InvestmentTypeAxis=cim_NonAgencyResidentialMortgageBackedSecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_InvestmentTypeAxis=cim_NonAgencyResidentialMBSDeemedToBeEquivalentToAltAQualityMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_InvestmentTypeAxis=cim_NonAgencyResidentialMbsDeemedToBeEquivalentToPrimeQualityMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_InvestmentTypeAxis=cim_ReRemicSecurityMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_RangeAxis=srt_MinimumMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_InternalCreditAssessmentAxis=cim_AltaMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_RangeAxis=srt_MaximumMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

Mortgage-Backed Securities - Investment Holdings - Narrative (Detail) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)
Investment Holdings [Line Items]
Gross unrealized loss	$ 85,984	$ 230,296
Agency MBS
Investment Holdings [Line Items]
Gross unrealized loss	1,000	95,000
Non-Agency RMBS
Investment Holdings [Line Items]
Gross unrealized loss	$ 348	$ 601
Non-Agency RMBS Deemed To Be Equivalent To Alt-A Quality
Investment Holdings [Line Items]
Percentage in Alt-A collateral	58.00%	64.00%
Non Agency Residential MBS Deemed To Be Equivalent To Prime Quality
Investment Holdings [Line Items]
Percentage in prime collateral	12.00%	12.00%
Re Remic Security
Investment Holdings [Line Items]
Fair value of securities exchanged during period		$ 81,000	$ 63,000
Gain (loss) on sale of investments		$ 3,000	$ 9,000
Minimum \| Alt-A
Investment Holdings [Line Items]
FICO Score	680
Maximum \| Alt-A
Investment Holdings [Line Items]
FICO Score	720
Alt-A securities underlying collateral of full documented loans	30.00%