VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES (Details) RSO (USD $)	12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended			12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended		0 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Oct. 31, 2012 RSO [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 RSO [Member] credit	Dec. 31, 2011 RSO [Member]	Nov. 16, 2011 RSO [Member] Series B Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 RSO [Member] Investment in RCAM [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 RSO [Member] Investment in RCAM [Member]	Feb. 28, 2011 RSO [Member] Investment in RCAM [Member] Entity	Dec. 31, 2012 RSO [Member] Varde Investment Partners, LP [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 RSO [Member] Entity	Dec. 31, 2011 RSO [Member]	Oct. 31, 2012 RSO [Member] Investment in RCAM [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 RSO [Member] Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] LEAF [Member] Position	Dec. 31, 2011 RSO [Member] Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] LEAF [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 RSO [Member] Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] LEAF [Member] LEAF Funding 3 [Member]	Nov. 16, 2011 RSO [Member] Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] LEAF [Member] Series A Preferred Stock [Member]	Nov. 16, 2011 RSO [Member] Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] LEAF [Member] Series B Preferred Stock [Member]	Nov. 16, 2011 RSO [Member] Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] LEAF [Member] Series D Preferred Stock [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 RSO [Member] Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] Interest in RCT I and RCT II [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 RSO [Member] Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] Interest in RCT I [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 RSO [Member] Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] Interest in RCT II [Member]	Feb. 28, 2011 RSO [Member] Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] Investment in RCAM [Member] Entity	Dec. 31, 2012 RSO [Member] Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] RRE VIP Borrower, LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 RSO [Member] Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] RRE VIP Borrower, LLC [Member]	Dec. 01, 2009 RSO [Member] Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] RRE VIP Borrower, LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 RSO [Member] Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] RRE VIP Borrower, LLC [Member] Minimum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 RSO [Member] Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] RRE VIP Borrower, LLC [Member] Maximum [Member]	Jun. 19, 2012 RSO [Member] Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] Varde Investment Partners, LP [Member] Property	Dec. 31, 2012 RSO [Member] Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] Varde Investment Partners, LP [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Number of consolidated VIEs											7
Number of VIEs for which persons of power are considered a related party group											6
Number Of Credits Supported In VIEs				2
Financial support provided to VIEs											$ 156,000	$ 710,000												$ 591,000	$ 1,900,000
Shares received in equity method transaction (in shares)																	31,341	4,872	2,364
Preferred stock, coupon authorized (in hundredths)						8.00%								8.00%
Ownership percentage in VIE														26.70%						100.00%									7.50%
Investments in unconsolidated entities				45,413,000	47,899,000					526,000				33,100,000	36,300,000					1,500,000				2,300,000	3,600,000	2,100,000
Variable interest entity, number of board positions held by the company														2
Variable interest entity, total number of board positions														6
Value of equity of variable interest entity, threshold for obliation to contribute cash to VIE (less than approximately $18.7 million)																18,700,000
Measurement date of value of equity in VIE, number of days after next fiscal year end																90 days
Percentage of total value of trusts owned																					3.00%	3.00%
Borrowings				1,785,600,000	1,794,083,000																25,800,000	25,800,000
Bank loan assets under management									1,900,000,000
Number of CLOs held by purchased entity									5														4
Acquisition									22,500,000
Intangible assets				13,192,000	19,813,000		13,100,000	19,000,000
Fee income				7,068,000	7,789,000		7,000,000	7,800,000
Preferred equity acquired			66.60%										66.60%
Required contribution to joint venture, as a percentage of the total funding required for each asset acquisition on a monthly basis																											3.00%	5.00%
Equity in earnings (losses) of unconsolidated entities	3,439,000	10,377,000		(2,709,000)	112,000					(135,000)														683,000	112,000
Number of condominium developments																													2
Threshold for determination of capital call, aggregate capital contributions (exceeds $500 million)																														$ 500,000,000