BORROWINGS (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			9 Months Ended	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended					9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended					9 Months Ended				9 Months Ended								9 Months Ended	2 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		2 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended	2 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2012 Republic Bank Secured Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 TD Bank, NA Secured Revolving Credit Facility [Member]		Jun. 30, 2011 TD Bank, NA Secured Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 TD Bank, NA Secured Revolving Credit Facility [Member]		Jun. 30, 2011 TD Bank, NA Secured Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 TD Bank, NA Secured Revolving Credit Facility [Member]		Jun. 30, 2012 TD Bank, NA Secured Revolving Credit Facility [Member] TBBK [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 TD Bank, NA Secured Revolving Credit Facility [Member] RSO [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 TD Bank NA Term Loan [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 TD Bank NA Term Loan [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 TD Bank NA Term Loan [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 TD Bank NA Term Loan [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 TD Bank NA Term Loan [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Republic Bank Secured Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Republic Bank Secured Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Republic Bank Secured Revolving Credit Facility [Member] RSO [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Total Corporate Borrowing [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Total Corporate Borrowing [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Senior Notes [Member]		Jun. 30, 2011 Senior Notes [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Senior Notes [Member]		Jun. 30, 2011 Senior Notes [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Senior Notes [Member]		Jun. 30, 2012 Mortgage Debt [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Mortgage Debt [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Notes Payable To RSO [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Notes Payable To RSO [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Notes Payable To RSO [Member] RSO [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Notes Payable To RSO [Member] LEAF [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Other Debt [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Other Debt [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Total corporate and real estate borrowings [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Total corporate and real estate borrowings [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Commercial finance debt [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Commercial finance debt [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Capital Lease Obligations [Member]	Nov. 16, 2011 Securitization of leases and loans [Member]	Nov. 16, 2011 Securitization of leases and loans [Member] LEAF [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Securitization of leases and loans [Member] LEAF [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Guggenheim Bridge Loan [Member] LEAF [Member]	Nov. 16, 2011 Series 2010 - 2 term securitization [Member] LEAF [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Series 2010 - 2 term securitization [Member] LEAF [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Series 2010 - 2 term securitization [Member] LEAF [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Series 2010 - 2 term securitization [Member] LEAF [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Guggenheim Revolving Warehouse Credit Facility [Member]	Nov. 16, 2011 Guggenheim Revolving Warehouse Credit Facility [Member] LEAF [Member]	Jun. 30, 2011 Guggenheim Revolving Warehouse Credit Facility [Member] LEAF [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Guggenheim Revolving Warehouse Credit Facility [Member] LEAF [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Maximum [Member] Guggenheim Revolving Warehouse Credit Facility [Member] LEAF [Member]	Jun. 30, 2012 Minimum [Member] Guggenheim Bridge Loan [Member] LEAF [Member]
Corporate and Real estate debt [Abstract]
Amount of facility							$ 6,997,000	[1]		$ 6,997,000	[1]						$ 0		$ 0			$ 3,500,000																																	$ 120,000,000					$ 110,000,000
Borrowings outstanding	22,617,000		22,617,000		222,659,000		0	[1]		0	[1]		7,493,000	[1]			0		0		1,250,000	0	0		0	8,743,000	10,000,000	[2]		10,000,000	[2]		16,263,000	[2]	10,574,000	10,700,000	1,677,000	1,705,000			366,000	548,000	22,617,000	37,959,000	0	184,700,000
Outstanding letters of credit							503,000			503,000																																																	150,000,000
Unamortized discount																																	2,600,000
Expiration date										Aug. 31, 2013												Dec. 01, 2013								Oct. 15, 2013
Repayments of outstanding term loan										1,300,000
Description of variable rate basis										The interest rate on borrowings is either (a) the prime rate of interest plus 2.25% or (b) LIBOR plus 3%, with a floor of 6%. The Company is also charged an annual fee of 0.5% on the unused facility amount as well as a 5.25% fee on the $503,000 of outstanding letters of credit.
Prime Rate Basis Spread On Variable Rate (in hundredths)							2.25%			2.25%												1.00%
LIBOR rate basis spread on variable rate (in hundredths)							3.00%			3.00%
LIBOR Borrowings floor interest rate (in hundredths)										6.00%
Prime Borrowings Floor Interest Rate																						4.50%
Unused facility fee (in hundredths)										0.50%												0.25%
Line of credit facility commitment fee percentage on outstanding lines of credit (in hundredths)										5.25%
Repayment of facility specified as a percentage of net proceeds from certain asset sales (in hundredths)										30.00%
Number of securities pledged (in shares)															18,972	1,833,915								700,000
Availability under the facility specified as a percentage of net present value of future management fees to be earned (in hundredths)										75.00%
Availability under facility specified limitations						Availability under this facility is limited to the lesser of (a) the sum of (i) 25% of the appraised value of the real estate, based upon the most recent appraisal delivered to the bank and (ii) 100% of the cash and 75% of the market value of the pledged RSO shares held in the pledged account; and (b) 100% of the cash and 100% of the market value of the pledged RSO shares held in the pledged account
Availability on the line of credit facility							7,000,000			7,000,000
Debt weighted average borrowing							4,000,000		7,500,000	4,900,000		10,900,000						4,400,000	259,000	1,900,000																													42,700,000		11,700,000	70,100,000	84,600,000	57,800,000		26,000,000	68,800,000	58,200,000
Effective interest rate (in hundredths)							11.20%		9.80%	10.50%		10.70%						14.20%	38.20%	12.80%							9.30%		22.60%	14.30%		21.90%																5.60%				8.50%					5.10%
Weighted average borrowing rate (in hundredths)							6.00%		6.00%	6.00%		6.70%					6.00%																						8.00%								7.20%		2.60%		9.10%	5.10%	8.50%	8.60%		5.10%	4.20%	5.00%
Percentage of appraised value of the real estate under maximum borrowing facility under option one (in hundredths)																						25.00%
Percentage of cash under maximum borrowing facility under option one (in hundredths)																								100.00%
Percentage of market value of securities pledged under maximum borrowing facility under option one (in hundredths)																								25.00%
Percentage of cash under maximum borrowing facility under option two (in hundredths)																								100.00%
Percentage of market value of securities pledged under maximum borrowing facility under option two (in hundredths)																								75.00%
Senior Notes [Abstract]
Existing notes redeemed for cash																														8,800,000
Interest rate (in hundredths)																											9.00%			9.00%
Detachable warrants term																														5 years
Shares of common stock issued on warrants (in shares)																											3,690,195			3,690,195
Amortization of debt discount	0	0	(2,190,000)	0																										2,190,000
Other Debt Corporate [Abstract]
Lease term																																															2 years
Monthly payments																																															22,697
Securitization of leases and loans [Abstract]
Securitization of leases and loans amount																																																	105,000,000
Number of classes of notes issued																																																		8									6
Minimum fixed rate on classes of notes																																																		0.40%
Maximum fixed rate on classes of notes																																																		5.50%
Guggenheim Securities LLC [Abstract]
Short-term bridge loan																																																													21,800,000
Notes payable to RSO commercial finance [Abstract]
Total amount allowed to borrow																																								10,000,000
Amount funded																																								6,900,000
Notes payable additional funding																																								3,100,000
Amount paid by LEAF to RSO after deconsolidation																																								8,500,000
Debt repayments [Abstract]
2013	434,000		434,000
2014	10,302,000		10,302,000
2015	1,881,000		1,881,000
2016	215,000		215,000
2017	231,000		231,000
Thereafter	9,554,000		9,554,000
Total	$ 22,617,000		$ 22,617,000		$ 222,659,000		$ 0	[1]		$ 0	[1]		$ 7,493,000	[1]			$ 0		$ 0		$ 1,250,000	$ 0	$ 0		$ 0	$ 8,743,000	$ 10,000,000	[2]		$ 10,000,000	[2]		$ 16,263,000	[2]	$ 10,574,000	$ 10,700,000	$ 1,677,000	$ 1,705,000			$ 366,000	$ 548,000	$ 22,617,000	$ 37,959,000	$ 0	$ 184,700,000
Covenants [Abstract]
Carveout expiration period for financial covenants under mortgage on hotel property																																			P10Y

[1] The amount of the facility as shown has been reduced for outstanding letters of credit totaling $503,000 at June 30, 2012.

[2] At September 30, 2011, the outstanding Senior Notes were reflected net of an unamortized discount of $2.6 million related to the fair value of detachable warrants issued to the note holders.