Consolidated Balance Sheets - USD ($)		Dec. 31, 2023	Dec. 31, 2022
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	[1]	$ 51,247,063	$ 43,858,515
Restricted cash	[1]	270,129	3,507,850
Commercial mortgage loans held-for-investment, at amortized cost	[1]	1,389,940,203	1,076,148,186
Allowance for credit losses	[1]	(6,059,006)	(4,258,668)
Commercial mortgage loans held-for-investment, net of allowance for credit losses	[1]	1,383,881,197	1,071,889,518
Mortgage servicing rights, at fair value	[1]	691,973	795,656
Accrued interest receivable	[1]	8,588,805	5,797,991
Other assets	[1]	2,253,280	2,116,007
Total assets	[1]	1,446,932,447	1,127,965,537
LIABILITIES:
Collateralized loan obligations, net	[1]	1,146,210,752	829,310,498
Secured term loan	[1]	47,220,226	46,971,042
Accrued interest payable	[1]	4,092,701	2,360,809
Dividends payable	[1]	4,654,904	4,131,369
Fees and expenses payable to Manager	[1]	1,587,875	1,606,333
Other liabilities	[1]	2,373,609	583,989
Total liabilities	[1]	1,206,140,067	884,964,040
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (NOTES 10 & 11)	[1]
EQUITY:
Preferred Stock: par value $0.01 per share; 50,000,000 shares authorized; 7.875% Series A Cumulative Redeemable, $60,000,000 aggregate liquidation preference, 2,400,000 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively	[1]	57,254,935	57,254,935
Common Stock: par value $0.01 per share; 450,000,000 shares authorized, 52,248,631 and 52,231,152 shares issued and outstanding, at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively	[1]	522,487	522,252
Additional paid-in capital	[1]	314,587,299	314,598,384
Cumulative distributions to stockholders	[1]	(179,045,749)	(160,724,426)
Accumulated earnings	[1]	47,373,908	31,250,852
Total stockholders' equity	[1]	240,692,880	242,901,997
Noncontrolling interests	[1]	99,500	99,500
Total equity	[1]	240,792,380	243,001,497
Total liabilities and equity	[1]	$ 1,446,932,447	$ 1,127,965,537

[1] Our consolidated balance sheets include assets and liabilities of consolidated variable interest entities ("VIEs") as the Company was the primary beneficiary of these VIEs. As of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, assets of the consolidated VIEs totaled $1,384,136,334 and $1,005,507,371, respectively and the liabilities of consolidated VIEs totaled $1,150,207,290 and $831,575,144, respectively. See Note 4 for further discussion.