RSO FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS (Fair Value, by Balance Sheet Grouping) (Details) (Resource Capital Corp [Member], USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Carrying Amount [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Loans held-for-investment	$ 1,708,540	$ 1,793,780
Loans receivable-related party	7,860	8,324
CDO notes	1,475,014	1,614,883
Junior subordinated notes	50,861	50,814
Repurchase agreement	110,365	106,303
Fair Value [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Loans held-for-investment	1,728,878	1,848,617
Loans receivable-related party	7,860	8,324
CDO notes	1,295,372	1,405,124
Junior subordinated notes	17,355	17,308
Repurchase agreement	110,365	106,303
Level 1 [Member] | Fair Value [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Loans held-for-investment	0	0
Loans receivable-related party	0	0
CDO notes	0	0
Junior subordinated notes	0	0
Repurchase agreement	0	0
Level 2 [Member] | Fair Value [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Loans held-for-investment	1,086,102	1,186,642
Loans receivable-related party	0	0
CDO notes	1,295,372	1,405,124
Junior subordinated notes	0	0
Repurchase agreement	0	0
Level 3 [Member] | Fair Value [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Loans held-for-investment	642,776	661,975
Loans receivable-related party	7,860	8,324
CDO notes	0	0
Junior subordinated notes	17,355	17,308
Repurchase agreement	$ 110,365	$ 106,303