Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets - USD ($)		Jun. 30, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
ASSETS
Available-for-sale securities, at fair value (includes pledged securities of $0 for June 30, 2018 and $1,295,225,428 for December 31, 2017, respectively)		$ 0	$ 1,290,825,648
Commercial mortgage loans held-for-investment, at amortized cost		326,883,547	0
Multi-family mortgage loans held in securitization trusts	[1]	23,842,162	1,130,874,274
Residential loans held in securitization trusts, at fair value	[1]	0	119,756,455
Mortgage servicing rights, at fair value		4,105,613	2,963,861
Cash and cash equivalents		73,380,534	34,347,339
Restricted cash		7,932,233	11,275,263
Deferred offering costs		154,616	179,382
Accrued interest receivable		1,856,506	8,852,036
Investment related receivable		20,505,834	7,461,128
Derivative assets, at fair value		0	5,349,613
Other assets		871,239	656,117
Total assets		459,532,284	2,612,541,116
Repurchase agreements:
Available-for-sale securities		0	1,234,522,000
Collateralized loan obligations		287,738,948	0
Multi-family securitized debt obligations	[1]	19,481,546	1,109,204,743
Residential securitized debt obligations	[1]	0	114,418,318
Accrued interest payable		526,251	6,194,464
Dividends payable		29,349	39,132
Deferred income		310,250	222,518
Due to broker		0	1,123,463
Fees and expenses payable to Manager		1,185,000	752,000
Other accounts payable and accrued expenses		225,980	273,201
Total liabilities		309,497,324	2,466,749,839
Commitments and contingencies
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 June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively		37,156,972	37,156,972
Common Stock: par value $0.01 per share; 450,000,000 shares authorized, 23,683,164 and 22,143,758 shares issued and outstanding, at June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively		236,787	221,393
Additional paid-in capital		231,320,638	224,048,169
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)		0	(12,617,794)
Cumulative distributions to stockholders		(110,137,146)	(104,650,235)
Accumulated earnings (deficit)		(8,542,291)	1,632,772
Total stockholders' equity		150,034,960	145,791,277
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity		$ 459,532,284	$ 2,612,541,116

[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 June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, assets of consolidated VIEs totaled $23,949,942 and $1,255,404,335 respectively, and the liabilities of consolidated VIEs totaled $19,561,943 and $1,228,295,517 respectively