Consolidated Balance Sheets - USD ($)		Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
ASSETS
Available-for-sale securities, at fair value (includes pledged securities of $1,295,225,428 and $876,121,505 for December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively)	[1]	$ 1,290,825,648	$ 870,929,601
Mortgage loans held-for-sale, at fair value	[1]	0	2,849,536
Multi-family loans held in securitization trusts, at fair value	[1]	1,130,874,274	1,222,905,433
Residential loans held in securitization trusts, at fair value	[1]	119,756,455	141,126,720
Mortgage servicing rights, at fair value	[1]	2,963,861	3,440,809
Cash and cash equivalents	[1]	34,347,339	27,534,374
Restricted cash	[1]	11,275,263	10,355,222
Deferred offering costs	[1]	179,382	96,489
Accrued interest receivable	[1]	8,852,036	7,619,717
Investment related receivable	[1]	7,461,128	3,914,458
Derivative assets, at fair value	[1]	5,349,613	8,053,813
Other assets	[1]	656,117	775,031
Total assets	[1]	2,612,541,116	2,299,601,203
Repurchase agreements:
Available-for-sale securities	[1]	1,234,522,000	804,811,000
Multi-family securitized debt obligations	[1]	1,109,204,743	1,204,583,678
Residential securitized debt obligations	[1]	114,418,318	134,846,348
Accrued interest payable	[1]	6,194,464	5,467,916
Dividends payable	[1]	39,132	39,132
Deferred income	[1]	222,518	203,743
Due to broker	[1]	1,123,463	4,244,678
Fees and expenses payable to Manager	[1]	752,000	880,000
Other accounts payable and accrued expenses	[1]	273,201	2,057,843
Total liabilities	[1]	2,466,749,839	2,157,134,338
Commitments and contingencies	[1]
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY:
Preferred Stock: par value $0.01 per share; 50,000,000 shares authorized, 8.75% Series A cumulative redeemable, $25 liquidation preference, 1,610,000 and 1,610,000 issued and outstanding at December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively	[1]	37,156,972	37,156,972
Common Stock: par value $0.01 per share; 450,000,000 shares authorized, 22,143,758 and 17,539,258 shares issued and outstanding, at December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively	[1]	221,393	175,348
Additional paid-in capital	[1]	224,048,169	204,264,868
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	[1]	(15,054,484)	(9,268,630)
Cumulative distributions to stockholders	[1]	(104,650,235)	(89,224,194)
Accumulated earnings (deficit)	[1]	4,069,462	(637,499)
Total stockholders' equity	[1]	145,791,277	142,466,865
Total liabilities and equity	[1]	$ 2,612,541,116	$ 2,299,601,203

[1] Our consolidated balance sheets include assets and liabilities of consolidated variable interest entities (“VIE's) as the Company is the primary beneficiary of these VIEs. As of December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, assets of consolidated VIEs totaled $1,255,404,335 and $1,369,120,941, respectively, and the liabilities of consolidated VIEs totaled $1,228,295,517 and $1,344,404,080, respectively