Income Taxes (Details) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2015	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2015	Sep. 30, 2014
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Provision (benefit) for income taxes	$ 1,500,000	$ 3,125,000	$ 4,824,000	$ (6,693,000)
Unrecognized tax benefits	0	0	0	0
Unrecognized tax benefits			0	0
Cole Capital Segment [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Provision (benefit) for income taxes	(738,000)	1,131,000	(2,387,000)	(12,598,000)
REI Segment [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Provision (benefit) for income taxes	$ 2,238,000	$ 1,994,000	$ 7,211,000	$ 5,905,000