The Company	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2011
The Company [Abstract]
The Company	NOTE 1: THE COMPANY RAIT Financial Trust invests in and manages a portfolio of real-estate related assets, including direct ownership of real estate properties, and provides a comprehensive set of debt financing options to the real estate industry. References to "RAIT", "we", "us", and "our" refer to RAIT Financial Trust and its subsidiaries, unless the context otherwise requires. We conduct our business through our subsidiaries, RAIT Partnership, L.P. and Taberna Realty Finance Trust, or Taberna, as well as through their respective subsidiaries. RAIT is a self-managed and self-advised Maryland real estate investment trust, or REIT. Taberna is also a Maryland REIT. We finance a substantial portion of our investments through borrowing and securitization strategies seeking to match the maturities and terms of our financings with the maturities and terms of those investments, and to mitigate interest rate risk through derivative instruments. We are subject to significant competition in all aspects of our business. Existing industry participants and potential new entrants compete with us for the available supply of investments suitable for origination or acquisition, as well as for debt and equity capital. We compete with many third parties engaged in real estate finance and investment activities, including other REITs, specialty finance companies, savings and loan associations, banks, mortgage bankers, insurance companies, mutual funds, institutional investors, investment banking firms, lenders, governmental bodies and other entities.

The Company

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

NOTE 1: THE COMPANY

RAIT Financial Trust invests in and manages a portfolio of real-estate related assets, including direct ownership of real estate properties, and provides a comprehensive set of debt financing options to the real estate industry. References to "RAIT", "we", "us", and "our" refer to RAIT Financial Trust and its subsidiaries, unless the context otherwise requires. We conduct our business through our subsidiaries, RAIT Partnership, L.P. and Taberna Realty Finance Trust, or Taberna, as well as through their respective subsidiaries. RAIT is a self-managed and self-advised Maryland real estate investment trust, or REIT. Taberna is also a Maryland REIT.

We finance a substantial portion of our investments through borrowing and securitization strategies seeking to match the maturities and terms of our financings with the maturities and terms of those investments, and to mitigate interest rate risk through derivative instruments.

We are subject to significant competition in all aspects of our business. Existing industry participants and potential new entrants compete with us for the available supply of investments suitable for origination or acquisition, as well as for debt and equity capital. We compete with many third parties engaged in real estate finance and investment activities, including other REITs, specialty finance companies, savings and loan associations, banks, mortgage bankers, insurance companies, mutual funds, institutional investors, investment banking firms, lenders, governmental bodies and other entities.