Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets - USD ($)		Mar. 31, 2017		Dec. 31, 2016		Mar. 31, 2016
ASSETS
Available-for-sale securities, at fair value (includes pledged securities of $1,040,598,558 and $876,121,505 for March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively)	[1]	$ 1,035,720,870		$ 870,929,601
Mortgage loans held-for-sale, at fair value	[1]	2,822,751		2,849,536
Multi-family loans held in securitization trusts, at fair value	[1]	1,215,157,038		1,222,905,433
Residential loans held in securitization trusts, at fair value	[1]	132,454,523		141,126,720
Mortgage servicing rights, at fair value	[1]	3,314,363		3,440,809
Cash and cash equivalents	[1]	32,713,356		27,534,374
Restricted cash	[1]	7,693,120		10,355,222
Deferred offering costs	[1]	96,532		96,489
Accrued interest receivable	[1]	8,078,915		7,619,717
Investment related receivable	[1]	2,193,766		3,914,458
Derivative assets, at fair value	[1]	4,976,938		8,053,813
Other assets	[1]	724,267		775,031
Total assets	[1]	2,445,946,439		2,299,601,203
Repurchase agreements:
Available-for-sale securities	[1]	971,225,000		804,811,000
Multi-family securitized debt obligations	[1]	1,195,536,818		1,204,583,678
Residential securitized debt obligations	[1]	126,535,978		134,846,348
Accrued interest payable	[1]	5,534,935		5,467,916
Dividends payable		39,132	[1]	39,132	[1]	$ 39,132
Deferred income	[1]	200,534		203,743
Due to broker	[1]	915,590		4,244,678
Fees and expenses payable to Manager	[1]	709,000		880,000
Other accounts payable and accrued expenses	[1]	376,632		2,057,843
Total liabilities	[1]	2,301,073,619		2,157,134,338
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 March 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, 17,539,258 and 17,539,258 shares issued and outstanding, at March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively	[1]	175,348		175,348
Additional paid-in capital	[1]	204,262,178		204,264,868
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	[1]	(3,281,038)		(6,831,940)
Cumulative distributions to stockholders	[1]	(92,735,592)		(89,224,194)
Accumulated earnings (deficit)	[1]	(705,048)		(3,074,189)
Total stockholders' equity	[1]	144,872,820		142,466,865
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	[1]	$ 2,445,946,439		$ 2,299,601,203

[1] Our consolidated balance sheets include assets and liabilities of consolidated variable interest entities ("VIEs") as the Company is the primary beneficiary of these VIEs. As of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, assets of consolidated VIEs totaled $1,352,801,814 and $1,369,120,941 respectively, and the liabilities of consolidated VIEs totaled $1,327,153,665 and $1,344,404,080 respectively