Ares Commercial Real Estate (ACRE) 10-Q 1 May 18 2018 Q1 Quarterly report Financial data

Document and Entity Information

Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018	Apr. 27, 2018
Document and Entity Information
Entity Registrant Name	Ares Commercial Real Estate Corp
Entity Central Index Key	1,529,377
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2018
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		28,598,916
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2,018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 5,201	$ 28,343
Restricted cash	379	379
Loans held for investment ($275,040 and $341,158 related to consolidated VIEs, respectively)	1,658,375	1,726,283
Other assets ($769 and $945 of interest receivable related to consolidated VIEs, respectively; $66,118 of other receivables related to consolidated VIEs as of March 31, 2018)	80,200	15,214
Total assets	1,744,155	1,770,219
LIABILITIES
Secured funding agreements	929,454	957,960
Secured term loan	107,797	107,595
Collateralized loan obligation securitization debt (consolidated VIE)	271,393	271,211
Due to affiliate	2,531	2,628
Dividends payable	8,008	7,722
Other liabilities ($453 and $414 of interest payable related to consolidated VIEs, respectively)	4,258	3,933
Total liabilities	1,323,441	1,351,049
Commitments and contingencies (Note 5)
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Common stock, par value $0.01 per share, 450,000,000 shares authorized at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, and 28,598,916 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017	283	283
Additional paid-in capital	420,871	420,637
Accumulated deficit	(440)	(1,750)
Total stockholders' equity	420,714	419,170
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	$ 1,744,155	$ 1,770,219

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Pa

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Statement of Financial Position [Abstract]
Loans held for investment related to consolidated VIE	$ 275,040	$ 341,158
Other assets, interest receivable related to consolidated VIE	769	945
Other assets, other receivable related to consolidated VIE	66,118
Other liabilities, interest payable related to consolidated VIE	$ 453	$ 414
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common stock, shares authorized	450,000,000	450,000,000
Common stock, shares issued	28,598,916	28,598,916
Common stock, shares outstanding	28,598,916	28,598,916

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPER

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018	Mar. 31, 2017
Net interest margin:
Interest income from loans held for investment	$ 27,436	$ 21,127
Interest expense	(14,299)	(10,788)
Net interest margin	13,137	10,339
Expenses:
Management and incentive fees to affiliate	1,558	1,812
Professional fees	482	391
General and administrative expenses	774	642
General and administrative expenses reimbursed to affiliate	924	948
Total expenses	3,738	3,793
Income before income taxes	9,399	6,546
Income tax expense, including excise tax	81	68
Net income attributable to ACRE	9,318	6,478
Less: Net income attributable to non-controlling interests	0	(25)
Net income attributable to common stockholders	$ 9,318	$ 6,453
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Basic and diluted earnings per common share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.33	$ 0.23
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding:
Basic weighted average shares of common stock outstanding (in shares)	28,495,833	28,468,819
Diluted weighted average shares of common stock outstanding (in shares)	28,598,916	28,482,756
Dividends declared per share of common stock (in dollars per share)	$ 0.28	$ 0.27

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF EQUIT

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF EQUITY - 3 months ended Mar. 31, 2018 - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Total	Common Stock	Additional Paid-in Capital	Accumulated Deficit	Total Stockholders’ Equity
Beginning Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2017	28,598,916	28,598,916
Beginning Balance at Dec. 31, 2017		$ 283	$ 420,637	$ (1,750)	$ 419,170
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity
Stock-based compensation (in shares)		0
Stock‑based compensation			234		234
Net income	$ 9,318			9,318	9,318
Dividends declared	$ (8,008)			(8,008)	(8,008)
Ending Balance (in shares) at Mar. 31, 2018	28,598,916	28,598,916
Ending Balance at Mar. 31, 2018		$ 283	$ 420,871	$ (440)	$ 420,714

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018	Mar. 31, 2017
Operating activities:
Net income	$ 9,318	$ 6,478
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:
Amortization of deferred financing costs	1,487	1,733
Accretion of deferred loan origination fees and costs	(1,854)	(1,454)
Stock-based compensation	234	98
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Other assets	194	(582)
Due to affiliate	(97)	156
Other liabilities	413	(221)
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities	9,695	6,208
Investing activities:
Issuance of and fundings on loans held for investment	(77,260)	(133,461)
Principal repayment of loans held for investment	79,933	75,518
Receipt of origination fees	1,040	1,256
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities	3,713	(56,687)
Financing activities:
Proceeds from secured funding agreements	54,672	88,850
Repayments of secured funding agreements	(83,178)	(293,057)
Payment of secured funding costs	(322)	(3,031)
Proceeds from issuance of debt of consolidated VIEs	0	272,927
Dividends paid	(7,722)	(7,406)
Contributions from non-controlling interests	0	12
Distributions to non-controlling interests	0	(10,681)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities	(36,550)	47,614
Change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	(23,142)	(2,865)
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period	28,722	47,645
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period	$ 5,580	$ 44,780

ORGANIZATION

ORGANIZATION	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
ORGANIZATION	ORGANIZATION Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, the “Company” or “ACRE”) is a specialty finance company primarily engaged in originating and investing in commercial real estate loans and related investments. Through Ares Commercial Real Estate Management LLC (“ACREM” or the Company’s “Manager”), a Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) registered investment adviser and a subsidiary of Ares Management, L.P. (NYSE: ARES) (“Ares Management”), a publicly traded, leading global alternative asset manager, it has investment professionals strategically located across the United States and Europe who directly source new loan opportunities for the Company with owners, operators and sponsors of commercial real estate (“CRE”) properties. The Company was formed and commenced operations in late 2011. The Company is a Maryland corporation and completed its initial public offering (the “IPO”) in May 2012. The Company is externally managed by its Manager, pursuant to the terms of a management agreement (the “Management Agreement”). The Company is primarily focused on directly originating and managing a diversified portfolio of CRE debt-related investments for the Company’s own account. The Company’s target investments include senior mortgage loans, subordinated debt, preferred equity, mezzanine loans and other CRE investments, including commercial mortgage backed securities. These investments are generally held for investment and are secured, directly or indirectly, by office, multifamily, retail, industrial, lodging, senior-living, self storage, student housing and other commercial real estate properties, or by ownership interests therein. The Company has elected and qualified to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), commencing with its taxable year ended December 31, 2012. The Company generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes on its REIT taxable income, determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and excluding net capital gains, to the extent that it annually distributes all of its REIT taxable income to stockholders and complies with various other requirements as a REIT.

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES The accompanying unaudited consolidated interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and the related management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 filed with the SEC. Refer to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for a description of the Company’s recurring accounting policies. The Company has included disclosure below regarding basis of presentation and other accounting policies that (i) are required to be disclosed quarterly or (ii) the Company views as critical as of the date of this report. Basis of Presentation The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the accrual basis of accounting in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and include the accounts of the Company, the consolidated variable interest entities (“VIEs”) that the Company controls and of which the Company is the primary beneficiary, and the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiaries. The consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments and reclassifications that, in the opinion of management, are necessary for the fair presentation of the Company’s results of operations and financial condition as of and for the periods presented. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. Interim financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP and pursuant to the requirements for reporting on Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. The current period’s results of operations will not necessarily be indicative of results that ultimately may be achieved for the year ending December 31, 2018 . Variable Interest Entities The Company evaluates all of its interests in VIEs for consolidation. When the Company’s interests are determined to be variable interests, the Company assesses whether it is deemed to be the primary beneficiary of the VIE. The primary beneficiary of a VIE is required to consolidate the VIE. Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 810, Consolidation , defines the primary beneficiary as the party that has both (i) the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact its economic performance, and (ii) the obligation to absorb losses and the right to receive benefits from the VIE which could be potentially significant. The Company considers its variable interests, as well as any variable interests of its related parties in making this determination. Where both of these factors are present, the Company is deemed to be the primary beneficiary and it consolidates the VIE. Where either one of these factors is not present, the Company is not the primary beneficiary and it does not consolidate the VIE. To assess whether the Company has the power to direct the activities of a VIE that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance, the Company considers all facts and circumstances, including its role in establishing the VIE and its ongoing rights and responsibilities. This assessment includes first, identifying the activities that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance; and second, identifying which party, if any, has power over those activities. In general, the parties that make the most significant decisions affecting the VIE or have the right to unilaterally remove those decision makers are deemed to have the power to direct the activities of a VIE. To assess whether the Company has the obligation to absorb losses of the VIE or the right to receive benefits from the VIE that could potentially be significant to the VIE, the Company considers all of its economic interests, including debt and equity investments, servicing fees, and other arrangements deemed to be variable interests in the VIE. This assessment requires that the Company applies judgment in determining whether these interests, in the aggregate, are considered potentially significant to the VIE. Factors considered in assessing significance include: the design of the VIE, including its capitalization structure; subordination of interests; payment priority; relative share of interests held across various classes within the VIE’s capital structure; and the reasons why the interests are held by the Company. For VIEs of which the Company is determined to be the primary beneficiary, all of the underlying assets, liabilities, equity, revenue and expenses of the structures are consolidated into the Company’s consolidated financial statements. The Company performs an ongoing reassessment of: (1) whether any entities previously evaluated under the majority voting interest framework have become VIEs, based on certain events, and therefore are subject to the VIE consolidation framework, and (2) whether changes in the facts and circumstances regarding its involvement with a VIE cause the Company’s consolidation conclusion regarding the VIE to change. See Note 12 included in these consolidated financial statements for further discussion of the Company’s VIEs. Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash Cash and cash equivalents include funds on deposit with financial institutions, including demand deposits with financial institutions. Cash and short‑term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when acquired are considered cash and cash equivalents for the purpose of the consolidated balance sheets and statements of cash flows. Restricted cash includes deposits required under certain Secured Funding Agreements (each individually defined in Note 4 included in these consolidated financial statements). The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash in the consolidated balance sheets to the total amount shown in the consolidated statements of cash flows ($ in thousands): As of March 31, 2018 March 31, 2017 Cash and cash equivalents $ 5,201 $ 44,400 Restricted cash 379 380 Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash shown in the Company's consolidated statements of cash flows $ 5,580 $ 44,780 Loans Held for Investment The Company originates CRE debt and related instruments generally to be held for investment. Loans that are held for investment are carried at cost, net of unamortized loan fees and origination costs, unless the loans are deemed impaired. Impairment occurs when it is deemed probable that the Company will not be able to collect all amounts due according to the contractual terms of the loan. If a loan is considered to be impaired, the Company will record an allowance to reduce the carrying value of the loan to the present value of expected future cash flows discounted at the loan’s contractual effective rate. Each loan classified as held for investment is evaluated for impairment on a quarterly basis. Loans are generally collateralized by real estate. The extent of any credit deterioration associated with the performance and/or value of the underlying collateral property and the financial and operating capability of the borrower could impact the expected amounts received. The Company monitors performance of its investment portfolio under the following methodology: (1) borrower review, which analyzes the borrower’s ability to execute on its original business plan, reviews its financial condition, assesses pending litigation and considers its general level of responsiveness and cooperation; (2) economic review, which considers underlying collateral (i.e. leasing performance, unit sales and cash flow of the collateral and its ability to cover debt service, as well as the residual loan balance at maturity); (3) property review, which considers current environmental risks, changes in insurance costs or coverage, current site visibility, capital expenditures and market perception; and (4) market review, which analyzes the collateral from a supply and demand perspective of similar property types, as well as from a capital markets perspective. Such impairment analyses are completed and reviewed by asset management and finance personnel who utilize various data sources, including periodic financial data such as property occupancy, tenant profile, rental rates, operating expenses, and the borrower’s exit plan, among other factors. In addition, the Company evaluates the entire portfolio to determine whether the portfolio has any impairment that requires a valuation allowance on the remainder of the loan portfolio. As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Company did not recognize any impairment charges with respect to its loans held for investment. Loans are generally placed on non-accrual status when principal or interest payments are past due 30 days or more or when there is reasonable doubt that principal or interest will be collected in full. Accrued and unpaid interest is generally reversed against interest income in the period the loan is placed on non-accrual status. Interest payments received on non-accrual loans may be recognized as income or applied to principal depending upon management’s judgment regarding the borrower’s ability to make pending principal and interest payments. Non-accrual loans are restored to accrual status when past due principal and interest are paid and, in management’s judgment, are likely to remain current. The Company may make exceptions to placing a loan on non-accrual status if the loan has sufficient collateral value and is in the process of collection. Preferred equity investments, which are subordinate to any loans but senior to common equity, are accounted for as loans held for investment and are carried at cost, net of unamortized loan fees and origination costs, unless the loans are deemed impaired, and are included within loans held for investment in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. The Company accretes or amortizes any discounts or premiums over the life of the related loan held for investment utilizing the effective interest method. Debt Issuance Costs Debt issuance costs under the Company’s indebtedness are capitalized and amortized over the term of the respective debt instrument. Unamortized debt issuance costs are expensed when the associated debt is repaid prior to maturity. Debt issuance costs related to debt securitizations are capitalized and amortized over the term of the underlying loans using the effective interest method. When an underlying loan is prepaid in a debt securitization and the outstanding principal balance of the securitization debt is reduced, the related unamortized debt issuance costs are charged to expense based on a pro‑rata share of the debt issuance costs being allocated to the specific loans that were prepaid. Amortization of debt issuance costs is included within interest expense in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations while the unamortized balance on (i) Secured Funding Agreements (each individually defined in Note 4 included in these consolidated financial statements) is included within other assets and (ii) the Secured Term Loan (defined in Note 4 included in these consolidated financial statements) and debt securitizations are both included as a reduction to the carrying amount of the liability, in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. The original issue discount (“OID”) on amounts drawn under the Company’s Secured Term Loan represents a discount to the face amount of the drawn debt obligations. The OID is amortized over the term of the Secured Term Loan using the effective interest method and is included within interest expense in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations while the unamortized balance is included as a reduction to the carrying amount of the Secured Term Loan in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. Revenue Recognition Interest income from loans held for investment is accrued based on the outstanding principal amount and the contractual terms of each loan. For loans held for investment, origination fees, contractual exit fees and direct loan origination costs are also recognized in interest income from loans held for investment over the initial loan term as a yield adjustment using the effective interest method. A reconciliation of the Company's interest income from loans held for investment, excluding non-controlling interests, to the Company's interest income from loans held for investment as included within its consolidated statements of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 is as follows ($ in thousands): For the three months ended March 31, 2018 2017 Interest income from loans held for investment, excluding non-controlling interests $ 27,436 $ 21,092 Interest income from non-controlling interest investment held by third parties — 35 Interest income from loans held for investment $ 27,436 $ 21,127 Net Interest Margin and Interest Expense Net interest margin in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations serves to measure the performance of the Company's loans held for investment as compared to its use of debt leverage. The Company includes interest income from its loans held for investment and interest expense related to its Secured Funding Agreements, securitizations debt and the Secured Term Loan (individually defined in Note 4 included in these consolidated financial statements) in net interest margin. For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 , interest expense is comprised of the following ($ in thousands): For the three months ended March 31, 2018 2017 Secured funding agreements and securitizations debt $ 12,301 $ 7,468 Secured term loan 1,998 3,320 Interest expense $ 14,299 $ 10,788 Comprehensive Income For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 , comprehensive income equaled net income; therefore, a separate consolidated statement of comprehensive income is not included in the accompanying consolidated financial statements. Recent Accounting Pronouncements In May 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) . The guidance in this ASU supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in Revenue Recognition (Topic 605) . Under the new guidance, an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The amendments in ASU No. 2014-09 are effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within that reporting period. The Company has assessed and determined that the application of this guidance does not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements, primarily because the majority of the Company’s revenue is accounted for under FASB ASC Topic 310, Receivables , which is excluded from this standard. In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments . The standard will replace the incurred loss impairment methodology pursuant to GAAP with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates. ASU No. 2016-13 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within that reporting period, with early adoption permitted after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within that reporting period. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting this ASU on its consolidated financial statements. In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash (A Consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force) . The amendments in this update require that a statement of cash flows explain the change during the period in the total of cash, cash equivalents, and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. Therefore, amounts generally described as restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents should be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts shown on the statement of cash flows. The Company adopted ASU No. 2016-18 in the first quarter of 2018 and applied the guidance retrospectively to the prior period consolidated statement of cash flows.

LOANS HELD FOR INVESTMENT

LOANS HELD FOR INVESTMENT	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
Receivables [Abstract]
LOANS HELD FOR INVESTMENT	LOANS HELD FOR INVESTMENT As of March 31, 2018 , the Company’s portfolio totaled 42 loans held for investment, excluding 63 loans that were repaid or sold since inception. The aggregate originated commitment under these loans at closing was approximately $1.9 billion and outstanding principal was $1.7 billion as of March 31, 2018 . During the three months ended March 31, 2018 , the Company funded approximately $77.3 million of outstanding principal and received repayments of $146.1 million of outstanding principal, as described in more detail in the tables below. Such investments are referred to herein as the Company’s “investment portfolio.” As of March 31, 2018 , 86.8% of the Company’s loans have London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) floors, with a weighted average floor of 0.87% , calculated based on loans with LIBOR floors. References to LIBOR or “L” are to 30-day LIBOR (unless otherwise specifically stated). The Company’s investments in loans held for investment are accounted for at amortized cost. The following tables summarize the Company’s loans held for investment as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 ($ in thousands): As of March 31, 2018 Carrying Amount (1) Outstanding Principal (1) Weighted Average Minimum Loan Borrowing Spread (2) Weighted Average Unleveraged Effective Yield (3) Weighted Average Remaining Life (Years) Senior mortgage loans $ 1,606,225 $ 1,615,703 4.9 % 6.5 % 1.8 Subordinated debt and preferred equity investments 52,150 52,860 9.5 % 11.0 % 3.2 Total loans held for investment portfolio $ 1,658,375 $ 1,668,563 5.0 % 6.6 % 1.9 As of December 31, 2017 Carrying Amount (1) Outstanding Principal (1) Weighted Average Minimum Loan Borrowing Spread (2) Weighted Average Unleveraged Effective Yield (3) Weighted Average Remaining Life (Years) Senior mortgage loans $ 1,674,169 $ 1,684,439 4.8 % 6.2 % 1.9 Subordinated debt and preferred equity investments 52,114 52,847 9.5 % 10.8 % 3.4 Total loans held for investment portfolio $ 1,726,283 $ 1,737,286 5.0 % 6.3 % 2.0 _______________________________________________________________________________ (1) The difference between the Carrying Amount and the Outstanding Principal amount of the loans held for investment consists of unamortized purchase discount, deferred loan fees and loan origination costs. (2) Minimum Loan Borrowing Spread is equal to (a) for floating rate loans, the margin above the applicable index rate (e.g., LIBOR) plus floors, if any, on such applicable index rates, and (b) for fixed rate loans, the applicable interest rate. (3) Unleveraged Effective Yield is the compounded effective rate of return that would be earned over the life of the investment based on the contractual interest rate (adjusted for any deferred loan fees, costs, premium or discount) and assumes no dispositions, early prepayments or defaults. The Total Weighted Average Unleveraged Effective Yield is calculated based on the average of Unleveraged Effective Yield of all loans held by the Company as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 as weighted by the Outstanding Principal balance of each loan. A more detailed listing of the Company’s investment portfolio based on information available as of March 31, 2018 is as follows ($ in millions, except percentages): Loan Type Location Outstanding Principal (1) Carrying Amount (1) Interest Rate Unleveraged Effective Yield (2) Maturity Date (3) Payment Terms (4) Senior Mortgage Loans: Self Storage (5) Diversified $116.7 $116.4 L+4.35% 7.0% Oct 2018 I/O Office TX 96.9 96.1 L+3.60% 6.0% July 2020 I/O Multifamily FL 89.7 89.4 L+4.75% 7.2% Sep 2019 I/O Various (6) Diversified 82.3 82.1 L+4.75% 7.3% Oct 2018 I/O Mixed-use NY 65.6 65.4 L+4.16% 6.5% Apr 2019 I/O Multifamily UT 62.6 62.2 L+3.25% 5.4% Dec 2020 I/O Office IL 60.4 59.8 L+3.75% 6.2% Dec 2020 I/O Office IL 58.6 58.2 L+3.99% 6.3% Aug 2019 I/O Office CO 54.0 53.5 L+4.15% 6.4% June 2021 I/O Multifamily FL 53.8 53.4 L+3.65% 5.9% Mar 2021 I/O Industrial MN 51.6 51.1 L+3.15% 5.5% Dec 2020 I/O Office NJ 49.6 49.2 L+4.65% 7.2% July 2020 I/O Mixed-use CA 49.0 48.6 L+4.00% 6.3% Apr 2021 I/O Multifamily FL 45.4 45.3 L+4.75% 7.2% Sep 2019 I/O Multifamily TX 42.7 42.4 L+3.30% 5.5% Dec 2020 I/O Student Housing CA 41.8 41.4 L+3.95% 6.4% July 2020 I/O Student Housing TX 40.1 39.8 L+4.75% 7.2% Jan 2021 I/O Hotel CA 40.0 39.7 L+4.12% 6.4% Jan 2021 I/O Student Housing NC 38.7 38.5 L+4.00% 7.7% Feb 2019 I/O Hotel NY 38.6 38.6 L+4.75% 7.1% June 2018 I/O Hotel MI 35.2 35.2 L+4.15% 6.0% July 2018 I/O Multifamily NY 31.3 31.2 L+4.55% 6.9% Feb 2019 I/O Multifamily NY 29.5 29.5 L+3.75% 5.9% Oct 2018 P/I (7) Multifamily NY 29.4 29.1 L+3.20% 5.4% Dec 2020 I/O Industrial OH 27.5 27.4 L+4.20% 6.4% May 2019 (8) P/I (7) Multifamily TX 27.5 27.3 L+3.20% 5.6% Oct 2020 I/O Multifamily TX 26.3 26.2 L+3.80% 5.8% Jan 2019 I/O Multifamily CA 25.7 25.5 L+3.85% 6.2% July 2020 I/O Student Housing AL 24.1 23.9 L+4.45% 6.9% Feb 2020 I/O Student Housing TX 24.0 23.8 L+4.10% 6.5% Jan 2021 I/O Multifamily CA 22.7 22.6 L+3.90% 6.1% Mar 2021 I/O Multifamily FL 22.5 22.4 L+4.25% 6.8% Feb 2019 I/O Office PA 19.6 19.5 L+4.70% 7.1% Mar 2020 I/O Office FL 18.4 18.3 L+4.30% 6.8% Apr 2020 I/O Multifamily FL 18.4 18.3 L+4.00% 6.2% Nov 2020 I/O Multifamily CA 18.0 17.8 L+3.30% 5.6% Feb 2021 I/O Multifamily NY 16.3 16.3 L+4.35% 6.5% Nov 2018 I/O Multifamily CA 13.9 13.8 L+3.80% 6.1% July 2020 I/O Residential CA 7.3 7.0 12.00% 14.7% Feb 2020 I/O Subordinated Debt and Preferred Equity Investments: Multifamily NY 33.3 33.3 L+8.07% 10.2% Jan 2019 I/O Office NJ 17.0 16.3 12.00% 12.8% Jan 2026 I/O (7) Office CA 2.6 2.6 L+8.25% 10.3% Nov 2021 I/O Total/Weighted Average $1,668.6 $1,658.4 6.6% _______________________________________________________________________________ (1) The difference between the Carrying Amount and the Outstanding Principal amount of the loans held for investment consists of unamortized purchase discount, deferred loan fees and loan origination costs. (2) Unleveraged Effective Yield is the compounded effective rate of return that would be earned over the life of the investment based on the contractual interest rate (adjusted for any deferred loan fees, costs, premium or discount) and assumes no dispositions, early prepayments or defaults. Unleveraged Effective Yield for each loan is calculated based on LIBOR as of March 31, 2018 or the LIBOR floor, as applicable. The Weighted Average Unleveraged Effective Yield is calculated based on the average of Unleveraged Effective Yield of all loans held by the Company as of March 31, 2018 as weighted by the Outstanding Principal balance of each loan. (3) Certain loans are subject to contractual extension options that vary between one and two 12 -month extensions and may be subject to performance based or other conditions as stipulated in the loan agreement. Actual maturities may differ from contractual maturities stated herein as certain borrowers may have the right to prepay with or without paying a prepayment penalty. The Company may also extend contractual maturities and amend other terms of the loans in connection with loan modifications. (4) I/O = interest only, P/I = principal and interest. (5) Prior to December 2017, the $ 116.7 million senior mortgage loan collateralized by a portfolio of self storage properties was in payment default due to the failure of the borrower to repay an amount equal to $ 42.5 million with respect to the retail and office properties (which included $ 37.0 million of allocated loan amount and $ 5.5 million of release premium). This payment amount was due in September 2017, which was prior to the initial maturity date of the loan in October 2018. In December 2017, the borrower repaid $ 25.1 million with respect to the office property (which included $ 21.8 million of allocated loan amount and $ 3.3 million of release premium). In conjunction with the repayment with respect to the office property, the senior mortgage loan was modified to, among other things, waive the payment default on the loan and extend the repayment obligation with respect to the retail property to January 2018. On January 31, 2018, the Company received a repayment of outstanding principal of $ 17.4 million (which included $ 15.1 million of allocated loan amount and $ 2.3 million of release premium). The principal repayments related to the retail and office properties resulted in the release of the retail and office properties from the collateral pool. Subsequent to the principal repayments, the outstanding principal balance of the senior mortgage loan was $ 116.7 million and was collateralized by a portfolio of self storage properties. (6) Prior to December 2017, the $ 82.3 million senior mortgage loan collateralized by a portfolio of self storage properties and one retail property was in payment default due to the failure of the borrower to repay an amount equal to $ 13.9 million with respect to the retail property (which included $ 12.1 million of allocated loan amount and $ 1.8 million of release premium). This payment amount was due in September 2017, which was prior to the initial maturity date of the loan in October 2018. In December 2017, the senior mortgage loan was modified to, among other things, waive the payment default on the loan and extend the repayment obligation with respect to the retail property to the maturity date of the loan in October 2018. The senior mortgage loan continues to have a recourse payment guarantee of up to $ 12.1 million from an individual who is the indirect owner of the underlying collateral and an affiliate of the borrower. (7) In May 2017, amortization began on the senior Ohio loan, which had an outstanding principal balance of $27.5 million as of March 31, 2018 . In October 2017, amortization began on the senior New York loan, which had an outstanding principal balance of $29.5 million as of March 31, 2018 . In February 2021, amortization will begin on the subordinated New Jersey loan, which had an outstanding principal balance of $ 17.0 million as of March 31, 2018 . The remainder of the loans in the Company’s portfolio are non-amortizing through their primary terms. (8) In February 2018, the borrower exercised a one-year extension option in accordance with the loan agreement, which extended the maturity date on the senior Ohio loan to May 2019. The Company has made, and may continue to make, modifications to loans, including loans that are in default. Loan terms that may be modified include interest rates, required prepayments, asset release prices, maturity dates, covenants, principal amounts and other loan terms. The terms and conditions of each modification vary based on individual circumstances and will be determined on a case by case basis. For the three months ended March 31, 2018 , the activity in the Company’s loan portfolio was as follows ($ in thousands): Balance at December 31, 2017 $ 1,726,283 Initial funding 74,110 Origination fees and discounts, net of costs (1,040 ) Additional funding 3,218 Amortizing payments (233 ) Loan payoffs (145,817 ) Origination fee accretion 1,854 Balance at March 31, 2018 $ 1,658,375 As of March 31, 2018 , all loans were paying in accordance with their contractual terms. No impairment charges have been recognized during the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017.

DEBT

DEBT	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]
DEBT	DEBT Financing Agreements The Company borrows funds, as applicable in a given period, under the Wells Fargo Facility, the Citibank Facility, the BAML Facility, the CNB Facility, the MetLife Facility, the UBS Facility and the U.S. Bank Facility (individually defined below and collectively, the “Secured Funding Agreements”) and the Secured Term Loan (as defined below). The Company refers to the Secured Funding Agreements and the Secured Term Loan as the “Financing Agreements.” The outstanding balance of the Financing Agreements in the table below are presented gross of debt issuance costs. As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 , the outstanding balances and total commitments under the Financing Agreements consisted of the following ($ in thousands): March 31, 2018 December 31, 2017 Outstanding Balance Total Outstanding Balance Total Wells Fargo Facility $ 384,432 $ 500,000 $ 407,853 $ 500,000 Citibank Facility 174,075 250,000 (1) 175,651 250,000 (1) BAML Facility 56,320 125,000 78,320 125,000 CNB Facility 15,260 50,000 — 50,000 MetLife Facility 101,131 180,000 101,131 180,000 UBS Facility 34,000 140,000 34,000 140,000 U.S. Bank Facility 164,236 185,989 161,005 185,989 Secured Term Loan 110,000 110,000 110,000 110,000 Total $ 1,039,454 $ 1,540,989 $ 1,067,960 $ 1,540,989 ______________________________________________________________________________ (1) The Citibank Facility (as defined below) has an accordion feature that provides for an increase in the $250.0 million commitment amount with respect to approved assets, as determined by Citibank, N.A. in its sole discretion. Some of the Company’s Financing Agreements are collateralized by (i) assignments of specific loans, preferred equity or a pool of loans held for investment or loans held for sale owned by the Company, (ii) interests in the subordinated portion of the Company’s securitization debt, or (iii) interests in wholly-owned entity subsidiaries that hold the Company’s loans held for investment. The Company is the borrower or guarantor under each of the Financing Agreements. Generally, the Company partially offsets interest rate risk by matching the interest index of loans held for investment with the Secured Funding Agreements used to fund them. The Company’s Financing Agreements contain various affirmative and negative covenants, including negative pledges, and provisions regarding events of default that are normal and customary for similar financing arrangements. Wells Fargo Facility The Company is party to a master repurchase funding facility with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (“Wells Fargo”) (the “Wells Fargo Facility”), which allows the Company to borrow up to $500.0 million . Under the Wells Fargo Facility, the Company is permitted to sell, and later repurchase, certain qualifying senior commercial mortgage loans, A-Notes, pari passu participations in commercial mortgage loans and mezzanine loans under certain circumstances, subject to available collateral approved by Wells Fargo in its sole discretion. The initial maturity date of the Wells Fargo Facility is December 14, 2018, subject to two 12 -month extensions, each of which may be exercised at the Company’s option, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including payment of an extension fee, which, if both were exercised, would extend the maturity date of the Wells Fargo Facility to December 14, 2020. Advances under the Wells Fargo Facility accrue interest at a per annum rate equal to the sum of (i) one-month LIBOR plus (ii) a pricing margin range of 1.75% to 2.35% . The Company incurs a non-utilization fee of 25 basis points per annum on the average daily available balance of the Wells Fargo Facility to the extent less than 75% of the Wells Fargo Facility is utilized. For the three months ended March 31, 2018 , the Company did not incur a non-utilization fee. For the three months ended March 31, 2017, the Company incurred a non-utilization fee of $9 thousand . The non-utilization fee is included within interest expense in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations. Citibank Facility The Company is party to a $250.0 million master repurchase facility with Citibank, N.A. (“Citibank”) (the “Citibank Facility”). Under the Citibank Facility, the Company is permitted to sell and later repurchase certain qualifying senior commercial mortgage loans and A-Notes approved by Citibank in its sole discretion. The Citibank Facility has an accordion feature that provides for an increase in the $250.0 million commitment amount with respect to approved assets, as determined by Citibank in its sole discretion. The initial maturity date of the Citibank Facility is December 10, 2018, subject to three 12 -month extensions, each of which may be exercised at the Company’s option assuming no existing defaults under the Citibank Facility and applicable extension fees being paid, which, if all three were exercised, would extend the maturity date of the Citibank Facility to December 8, 2021. Advances under the Citibank Facility accrue interest at a per annum rate equal to one-month LIBOR plus a pricing margin range of 2.25% to 2.50% , subject to certain exceptions. The Company incurs a non-utilization fee of 25 basis points per annum on the average daily available balance of the Citibank Facility. For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company incurred a non-utilization fee of $51 thousand and $20 thousand , respectively. The non-utilization fee is included within interest expense in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations. BAML Facility The Company is party to a $125.0 million Bridge Loan Warehousing Credit and Security Agreement with Bank of America, N.A. (“Bank of America”) (the “BAML Facility”). Under the BAML Facility, the Company may obtain advances secured by eligible commercial mortgage loans collateralized by multifamily properties. Bank of America may approve the loans on which advances are made under the BAML Facility in its sole discretion. The Company may request individual loans under the BAML Facility up to May 24, 2018. Individual advances under the BAML Facility generally have a two -year maturity, subject to one 12-month extension at the Company’s option upon the satisfaction of certain conditions and applicable extension fees being paid. The final maturity date of individual loans under the BAML Facility is May 25, 2021. Since October 2, 2017, advances under the BAML Facility accrue interest at a per annum rate equal to one-month LIBOR plus a spread of 2.00% . Prior to and including October 1, 2017, advances under the BAML Facility accrued interest at a per annum rate equal to one-month LIBOR plus a spread ranging from 2.25% to 2.75% depending upon the type of asset securing such advance. The Company incurs a non-utilization fee of 12.5 basis points per annum on the average daily available balance of the BAML Facility to the extent less than 50% of the BAML Facility is utilized. For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company incurred a non-utilization fee of $11 thousand and $9 thousand , respectively. The non-utilization fee is included within interest expense in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations. CNB Facility The Company is party to a $50.0 million secured revolving funding facility with City National Bank (the “CNB Facility”). The Company is permitted to borrow funds under the CNB Facility to finance investments and for other working capital and general corporate needs. In February 2018, the Company exercised a 12-month extension option on the CNB Facility to extend the initial maturity date to March 10, 2019. The Company has one additional 12-month extension, which may be exercised at the Company’s option, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including payment of an extension fee, which, if exercised, would extend the maturity date of the CNB Facility to March 10, 2020. Advances under the CNB Facility accrue interest at a per annum rate equal to the sum of, at the Company’s option, either (a) LIBOR for a one, two, three, six or, if available to all lenders, 12 -month interest period plus 3.00% or (b) a base rate (which is the highest of a prime rate, the federal funds rate plus 0.50% , or one-month LIBOR plus 1.00% ) plus 1.25% ; provided that in no event shall the interest rate be less than 3.00% . Unless at least 75% of the CNB Facility is used on average, unused commitments under the CNB Facility accrue non-utilization fees at the rate of 0.375% per annum. For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company incurred a non-utilization fee of $46 thousand and $47 thousand , respectively. The non-utilization fee is included within interest expense in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations. MetLife Facility The Company and certain of its subsidiaries are party to a $180.0 million revolving master repurchase facility with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (“MetLife”) (the “MetLife Facility”), pursuant to which the Company may sell, and later repurchase, commercial mortgage loans meeting defined eligibility criteria which are approved by MetLife in its sole discretion. The initial maturity date of the MetLife Facility is August 12, 2020, subject to two 12 -month extensions, each of which may be exercised at the Company’s option, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including payment of an extension fee, which, if both were exercised, would extend the maturity date of the MetLife Facility to August 12, 2022. Since August 4, 2017, advances under the MetLife Facility accrue interest at a per annum rate equal to one-month LIBOR plus a spread of 2.30% . Prior to and including August 3, 2017, advances under the MetLife Facility accrued interest at a per annum rate equal to one-month LIBOR plus a spread of 2.35% . Effective in February 2018, the Company began incurring a non-utilization fee of 25 basis points per annum on the average daily available balance of the MetLife Facility to the extent less than 65% of the MetLife Facility is utilized. For the three months ended March 31, 2018 , the Company incurred a non-utilization fee of $6 thousand . The non-utilization fee is included within interest expense in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations. UBS Facility The Company and certain of its subsidiaries are party to a $140.0 million revolving master repurchase facility with UBS Real Estate Securities Inc. (“UBS”) (the “UBS Facility”), pursuant to which the Company may sell, and later repurchase, commercial mortgage loans and, under certain circumstances, other assets meeting defined eligibility criteria that are approved by UBS in its sole discretion. The maturity date of the UBS Facility is October 21, 2018, subject to annual extensions in UBS’ sole discretion. The interest rate on advances under the UBS Facility is one-month LIBOR plus (a) 1.88% per annum, for assets that are subject to an advance for one year or less, (b) 2.08% per annum, for assets that are subject to an advance in excess of one year but less than two years and (c) 2.28% per annum, for assets that are subject to an advance for greater than two years. U.S. Bank Facility The Company and certain of its subsidiaries are party to a $186.0 million master repurchase and securities contract with U.S. Bank National Association (“U.S. Bank”) (the “U.S. Bank Facility”). Pursuant to the U.S. Bank Facility, the Company is permitted to sell, and later repurchase, eligible commercial mortgage loans collateralized by retail, office, mixed-use, multifamily, industrial, hospitality, student housing, manufactured housing or self storage properties. U.S. Bank may approve the mortgage loans that are subject to the U.S. Bank Facility in its sole discretion. The initial maturity date of the U.S. Bank Facility is July 31, 2020, subject to two 12 -month extensions, each of which may be exercised at the Company’s option, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including payment of an extension fee, which, if both were exercised, would extend the maturity date of the U.S. Bank Facility to July 31, 2022. Advances under the U.S. Bank Facility generally accrue interest at a per annum rate equal to one-month LIBOR plus a spread of 2.25% , unless otherwise agreed between U.S. Bank and the Company, depending upon the mortgage loan sold to U.S. Bank in the applicable transaction. The Company incurs a non-utilization fee of 25 basis points per annum on the average daily available balance of the U.S. Bank Facility to the extent less than 50% of the U.S. Bank Facility is utilized. For the three months ended March 31, 2018 , the Company did not incur a non-utilization fee. For the three months ended March 31, 2017, the Company incurred a non-utilization fee of $42 thousand . The non-utilization fee is included within interest expense in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations. Secured Term Loan The Company and certain of its subsidiaries are party to a $110.0 million Credit and Guaranty Agreement with the lenders referred to therein and Cortland Capital Market Services LLC, as administrative agent and collateral agent for the lenders (the “Secured Term Loan”). The initial maturity date of the Secured Term Loan is December 22, 2020, subject to one 12 -month extension, which may be exercised at the Company’s option, provided there are no existing events of default under the Secured Term Loan, which, if exercised, would extend the maturity date of the Secured Term Loan to December 22, 2021. During the extension period, the spread on advances under the Secured Term Loan increases every three months by 0.125 %, 0.375 % and 0.750 % per annum, respectively, beginning after the third-month of the extension period. Since December 22, 2017, advances under the Secured Term Loan accrue interest at a per annum rate equal to the sum of, at the Company’s option, one, two, three or six-month LIBOR plus a spread of 5.00 %. Prior to and including December 21, 2017, advances under the Secured Term Loan accrued interest at a per annum rate equal to one-month LIBOR plus a spread of 6.00 % (with a 1.00 % LIBOR floor). The total original issue discount on the Secured Term Loan draws was $ 2.6 million, which represents a discount to the debt cost to be amortized into interest expense using the effective interest method over the term of the Secured Term Loan. For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, the estimated per annum effective interest rate of the Secured Term Loan, which is equal to LIBOR plus the spread plus the accretion of the original issue discount and associated costs, was 7.3 % and 8.5 %, respectively.

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES	COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 , the Company had the following commitments to fund various senior mortgage loans, subordinated debt investments, as well as preferred equity investments accounted for as loans held for investment ($ in thousands): As of March 31, 2018 December 31, 2017 Total commitments $ 1,788,189 $ 1,847,534 Less: funded commitments (1,668,563 ) (1,737,286 ) Total unfunded commitments $ 119,626 $ 110,248 The Company from time to time may be party to litigation relating to claims arising in the normal course of business. As of March 31, 2018 , the Company is not aware of any legal claims that could materially impact its business, financial condition or results of operations.

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY	EQUITY Common Stock There were no shares issued in public or private offerings for the three months ended March 31, 2018 . See “Equity Incentive Plan” below for shares issued under the plan. Equity Incentive Plan On April 23, 2012, the Company adopted an equity incentive plan (the “2012 Equity Incentive Plan”). Pursuant to the 2012 Equity Incentive Plan, the Company may grant awards consisting of restricted shares of the Company’s common stock, restricted stock units and/or other equity-based awards to the Company’s outside directors, employees of the Manager, officers, ACREM and other eligible awardees under the plan, subject to an aggregate limitation of 690,000 shares of common stock ( 7.5% of the issued and outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock immediately after giving effect to the issuance of the shares sold in the IPO). Any restricted shares of the Company’s common stock and restricted stock units will be accounted for under FASB ASC Topic 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation , resulting in share-based compensation expense equal to the grant date fair value of the underlying restricted shares of common stock or restricted stock units. Restricted stock grants generally vest ratably over a one to four year period from the vesting start date. The grantee receives additional compensation for each outstanding restricted stock grant, classified as dividends paid, equal to the per-share dividends received by common stockholders. The following table details the restricted stock grants awarded as of March 31, 2018 : Grant Date Vesting Start Date Shares Granted May 1, 2012 July 1, 2012 35,135 June 18, 2012 July 1, 2012 7,027 July 9, 2012 October 1, 2012 25,000 June 26, 2013 July 1, 2013 22,526 November 25, 2013 November 25, 2016 30,381 January 31, 2014 August 31, 2015 48,273 February 26, 2014 February 26, 2014 12,030 February 27, 2014 August 27, 2014 22,354 June 24, 2014 June 24, 2014 17,658 June 24, 2015 July 1, 2015 25,555 April 25, 2016 July 1, 2016 10,000 June 27, 2016 July 1, 2016 24,680 April 25, 2017 April 25, 2018 81,710 June 7, 2017 July 1, 2017 18,224 October 17, 2017 January 2, 2018 7,278 December 15, 2017 January 2, 2018 8,948 Total 396,779 The following tables summarize the (i) non-vested shares of restricted stock and (ii) the vesting schedule of shares of restricted stock for the Company’s directors and officers as of March 31, 2018 : Schedule of Non-Vested Share and Share Equivalents Restricted Stock Grants—Directors Restricted Stock Grants—Officers Total Balance at December 31, 2017 21,394 90,658 112,052 Granted — — — Vested (6,942 ) (2,231 ) (9,173 ) Forfeited — — — Balance at March 31, 2018 14,452 88,427 102,879 Future Anticipated Vesting Schedule Restricted Stock Grants—Directors Restricted Stock Grants—Officers Total 2018 9,448 33,954 43,402 2019 3,336 27,237 30,573 2020 1,668 27,236 28,904 2021 — — — 2022 — — — Total 14,452 88,427 102,879

EARNINGS PER SHARE

EARNINGS PER SHARE	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
EARNINGS PER SHARE	EARNINGS PER SHARE The following information sets forth the computations of basic and diluted earnings per common share for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 ($ in thousands, except share and per share data): For the three months ended March 31, 2018 2017 Net income attributable to common stockholders $ 9,318 $ 6,453 Divided by: Basic weighted average shares of common stock outstanding: 28,495,833 28,468,819 Non-vested restricted stock 103,083 13,937 Diluted weighted average shares of common stock outstanding: 28,598,916 28,482,756 Basic and diluted earnings per common share $ 0.33 $ 0.23

INCOME TAX

INCOME TAX	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
INCOME TAX	INCOME TAX The Company wholly-owns ACRC Lender W TRS LLC and ACRC Lender U TRS LLC, which are taxable REIT subsidiaries (“TRS”) formed in order to issue and hold certain loans intended for sale. The Company also wholly-owns ACRC 2017-FL3 TRS LLC, which is a TRS formed in order to hold a portion of the CLO Securitization (as defined below) to the extent it generates excess inclusion income. The income tax provision for the Company and the TRSs consisted of the following for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 ($ in thousands): For the three months ended March 31, 2018 2017 Current $ 6 $ 3 Deferred — — Excise tax 75 65 Total income tax expense, including excise tax $ 81 $ 68 For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company recorded an expense of $75 thousand and $65 thousand , respectively, for U.S. federal excise tax. Excise tax represents a 4% tax on a portion of the required amount of the Company’s ordinary income and net capital gains not distributed during the year. If it is determined that the Company’s estimated current year taxable income plus any undistributed shortfall from its prior calendar year will be in excess of estimated dividend distributions (including capital gain dividend) for the current year, the Company will accrue excise tax on estimated excess taxable income as such taxable income is earned. The quarterly expense is calculated in accordance with applicable tax regulations. The TRSs recognize interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits within income tax expense in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations. Accrued interest and penalties, if any, are included within other liabilities in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. As of March 31, 2018 , tax years 2014 through 2017 remain subject to examination by taxing authorities. The Company does not have any unrecognized tax benefits and the Company does not expect that to change in the next 12 months.

FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUM

FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]
FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS	FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS The Company follows FASB ASC Topic 820-10, Fair Value Measurement (“ASC 820-10”), which expands the application of fair value accounting. ASC 820-10 defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value in accordance with GAAP and expands disclosure requirements for fair value measurements. ASC 820-10 determines fair value to be the price that would be received for a financial instrument in a current sale, which assumes an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. ASC 820-10 specifies a hierarchy of valuation techniques based on the inputs used in measuring fair value. In accordance with ASC 820-10, the inputs used to measure fair value are summarized in the three broad levels listed below: • Level 1-Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. • Level 2-Prices are determined using other significant observable inputs. Observable inputs are inputs that other market participants would use in pricing a security. These may include quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk and others. • Level 3-Prices are determined using significant unobservable inputs. In situations where quoted prices or observable inputs are unavailable (for example, when there is little or no market activity for an investment at the end of the period), unobservable inputs may be used. GAAP requires disclosure of fair value information about financial instruments, whether or not recognized in the financial statements, for which it is practical to estimate the value. In cases where quoted market prices are not available, fair values are based upon the application of discount rates to estimated future cash flows using market yields, or other valuation methodologies. Any changes to the valuation methodology will be reviewed by the Company’s management to ensure the changes are appropriate. The methods used may produce a fair value calculation that is not indicative of net realizable value or reflective of future fair values. Furthermore, while the Company anticipates that the valuation methods are appropriate and consistent with other market participants, the use of different methodologies, or assumptions, to determine the fair value of certain financial instruments could result in a different estimate of fair value at the reporting date. The Company uses inputs that are current as of the measurement date, which may fall within periods of market dislocation, during which price transparency may be reduced. As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 , the Company did not have any assets or liabilities required to be recorded at fair value on a recurring or nonrecurring basis. As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 , the carrying values and fair values of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities recorded at cost are as follows ($ in thousands): As of March 31, 2018 December 31, 2017 Level in Fair Value Hierarchy Carrying Value Fair Value Carrying Value Fair Value Financial assets: Loans held for investment 3 $ 1,658,375 $ 1,668,563 $ 1,726,283 $ 1,737,286 Financial liabilities: Secured funding agreements 2 $ 929,454 $ 929,454 $ 957,960 $ 957,960 Secured term loan 2 107,797 110,000 107,595 110,000 Collateralized loan obligation securitization debt (consolidated VIE) 3 271,393 272,927 271,211 272,927 The carrying values of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, interest receivable, due to affiliate liability and accrued expenses, which are all categorized as Level 2 within the fair value hierarchy, approximate their fair values due to their short-term nature. Loans held for investment are recorded at cost, net of unamortized loan fees and origination costs and net of an allowance for loan losses. The Company may record fair value adjustments on a nonrecurring basis when it has determined that it is necessary to record a specific reserve against a loan and the Company measures such specific reserve using the fair value of the loan’s collateral. To determine the fair value of the collateral, the Company may employ different approaches depending on the type of collateral. The Financing Agreements and collateralized loan obligation (“CLO”) securitization debt are recorded at outstanding principal, which is the Company’s best estimate of the fair value.

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
Related Party Transactions [Abstract]
RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS	RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS Management Agreement The Company is party to a Management Agreement under which ACREM, subject to the supervision and oversight of the Company’s board of directors, is responsible for, among other duties, (a) performing all of the Company’s day-to-day functions, (b) determining the Company’s investment strategy and guidelines in conjunction with the Company’s board of directors, (c) sourcing, analyzing and executing investments, asset sales and financing, and (d) performing portfolio management duties. In addition, ACREM has an Investment Committee that oversees compliance with the Company’s investment strategy and guidelines, investment portfolio holdings and financing strategy. In exchange for its services, ACREM is entitled to receive a base management fee, an incentive fee, expense reimbursements, grants of equity-based awards pursuant to the Company’s 2012 Equity Incentive Plan and a termination fee, if applicable. The base management fee is equal to 1.5% of the Company’s stockholders’ equity per annum, which is calculated and payable quarterly in arrears in cash. For purposes of calculating the base management fee, stockholders’ equity means: (a) the sum of (i) the net proceeds from all issuances of the Company’s equity securities since inception (allocated on a pro-rata daily basis for such issuances during the fiscal quarter of any such issuance), plus (ii) the Company’s retained earnings at the end of the most recently completed fiscal quarter determined in accordance with GAAP (without taking into account any non-cash equity compensation expense incurred in current or prior periods); less (b) (x) any amount that the Company has paid to repurchase the Company’s common stock since inception, (y) any unrealized gains and losses and other non-cash items that have impacted stockholders’ equity as reported in the Company’s consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP, and (z) one-time events pursuant to changes in GAAP, and certain non-cash items not otherwise described above, in each case after discussions between ACREM and the Company’s independent directors and approval by a majority of the Company’s independent directors. As a result, the Company’s stockholders’ equity, for purposes of calculating the management fee, could be greater or less than the amount of stockholders’ equity shown in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. The incentive fee is an amount, not less than zero , equal to the difference between: (a) the product of (i) 20% and (ii) the difference between (A) the Company’s Core Earnings (as defined below) for the previous 12 -month period, and (B) the product of (1) the weighted average of the issue price per share of the Company’s common stock of all of the Company’s public offerings of common stock multiplied by the weighted average number of all shares of common stock outstanding including any restricted shares of the Company’s common stock, restricted stock units or any shares of the Company’s common stock not yet issued, but underlying other awards granted under the Company’s 2012 Equity Incentive Plan (see Note 6 included in these consolidated financial statements) in the previous 12 -month period, and (2) 8% ; and (b) the sum of any incentive fees earned by ACREM with respect to the first three fiscal quarters of such previous 12 -month period; provided, however, that no incentive fee is payable with respect to any fiscal quarter unless cumulative Core Earnings for the 12 most recently completed fiscal quarters is greater than zero . “Core Earnings” is a non-GAAP measure and is defined as GAAP net income (loss) computed in accordance with GAAP, excluding non-cash equity compensation expense, the incentive fee, depreciation and amortization (to the extent that any of the Company’s target investments are structured as debt and the Company forecloses on any properties underlying such debt), any unrealized gains, losses or other non-cash items recorded in net income (loss) for the period, regardless of whether such items are included in other comprehensive income or loss, or in net income (loss), and one-time events pursuant to changes in GAAP and certain non-cash charges after discussions between ACREM and the Company’s independent directors and after approval by a majority of the Company’s independent directors. For the three months ended March 31, 2018 , no incentive fees were incurred. For the three months ended March 31, 2017 , $ 268 thousand of incentive fees were incurred. The Company reimburses ACREM at cost for operating expenses that ACREM incurs on the Company’s behalf, including expenses relating to legal, financial, accounting, servicing, due diligence and other services. The Company will not reimburse ACREM for the salaries and other compensation of its personnel, except for the allocable share of the salaries and other compensation of the Company’s (a) Chief Financial Officer, based on the percentage of his time spent on the Company’s affairs and (b) other corporate finance, tax, accounting, internal audit, legal, risk management, operations, compliance and other non-investment professional personnel of ACREM or its affiliates who spend all or a portion of their time managing the Company’s affairs based on the percentage of their time spent on the Company’s affairs. The Company is also required to pay its pro-rata portion of rent, telephone, utilities, office furniture, equipment, machinery and other office, internal and overhead expenses of ACREM and its affiliates that are required for the Company’s operations. The term of the Management Agreement ends on May 1, 2019, with automatic one -year renewal terms thereafter. Except under limited circumstances, upon a termination of the Management Agreement, the Company will pay ACREM a termination fee equal to three times the average annual base management fee and incentive fee received by ACREM during the 24 -month period immediately preceding the most recently completed fiscal quarter prior to the date of termination, each as described above. Certain of the Company’s subsidiaries, along with the Company’s lenders under certain of the Company’s Secured Funding Agreements, as well as under the CLO transaction have entered into various servicing agreements with ACREM’s subsidiary servicer, Ares Commercial Real Estate Servicer LLC (“ACRES”). The Company’s Manager will specially service, as needed, certain of the Company’s investments. Effective May 1, 2012, ACRES agreed that no servicing fees pursuant to these servicing agreements would be charged to the Company or its subsidiaries by ACRES or the Manager for so long as the Management Agreement remains in effect, but that ACRES will continue to receive reimbursement for overhead related to servicing and operational activities pursuant to the terms of the Management Agreement. The following table summarizes the related party costs incurred by the Company for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 and amounts payable to the Company’s Manager as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 ($ in thousands): Incurred Payable For the three months ended March 31, As of 2018 2017 March 31, 2018 December 31, 2017 Affiliate Payments Management fees $ 1,558 $ 1,544 $ 1,558 $ 1,549 Incentive fees — 268 — — General and administrative expenses 924 948 924 1,016 Direct costs (1) 103 60 49 63 Total $ 2,585 $ 2,820 $ 2,531 $ 2,628 ______________________________________________________________________________ (1) For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, direct costs incurred are included within general and administrative expenses in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations.

DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS

DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS
DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS	DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS The following table summarizes the Company’s dividends declared during the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 ($ in thousands, except per share data): Date Declared Record Date Payment Date Per Share Amount Total Amount March 1, 2018 March 29, 2018 April 17, 2018 $ 0.28 $ 8,008 Total cash dividends declared for the three months ended March 31, 2018 $ 0.28 $ 8,008 March 7, 2017 March 31, 2017 April 17, 2017 $ 0.27 $ 7,690 Total cash dividends declared for the three months ended March 31, 2017 $ 0.27 $ 7,690

VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES

VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES	VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES Consolidated VIEs As discussed in Note 2 , the Company evaluates all of its investments and other interests in entities for consolidation, including its investment in the CLO Securitization (as defined below), which is considered to be a variable interest in a VIE. CLO Securitization On March 2, 2017, ACRE Commercial Mortgage 2017-FL3 Ltd. (the “Issuer”) and ACRE Commercial Mortgage 2017-FL3 LLC (the “Co-Issuer”), both wholly-owned indirect subsidiaries of the Company, entered into an indenture (the “Indenture”) with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as advancing agent and note administrator, and Wilmington Trust, National Association as trustee, which governs the issuance of approximately $308.8 million principal balance secured floating rate notes (the “Notes”) and $32.4 million of preferred equity in the Issuer (the “CLO Securitization”). As of March 31, 2018, the Notes were collateralized by interests in a pool of eleven mortgage assets having a total principal balance of approximately $275.0 million (the “Mortgage Assets”) that were originated by a subsidiary of the Company and approximately $66.1 million of receivables related to repayments of outstanding principal on previous mortgage assets. As of December 31, 2017, the Notes were collateralized by interests in a pool of thirteen mortgage assets having a total principal balance of approximately $341.2 million that were originated by a subsidiary of the Company. During the reinvestment period ending on March 15, 2019, the Company may direct the Issuer to acquire additional mortgage assets meeting applicable reinvestment criteria using the principal repayments from the Mortgage Assets, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including receipt of a Rating Agency Confirmation and investor approval of the new mortgage assets. The contribution of the Mortgage Assets to the Issuer is governed by a Mortgage Asset Purchase Agreement between ACRC Lender LLC (the “Seller”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, and the Issuer, and acknowledged by the Company solely for purposes of confirming its status as a REIT, in which the Seller made certain customary representations, warranties and covenants. In connection with the securitization, the Issuer and Co-Issuer offered and issued the following classes of Notes: Class A, Class A-S, Class B, Class C and Class D Notes (collectively, the “Offered Notes”) to a third party. A wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company retained approximately $35.8 million of the Notes and all of the $32.4 million of preferred equity in the Issuer, which totaled $68.2 million . The Company, as the holder of the subordinated Notes and all of the preferred equity in the Issuer, has the obligation to absorb losses of the CLO, since the Company has a first loss position in the capital structure of the CLO. After March 15, 2021, the Issuer may redeem the Offered Notes subject to paying a make whole prepayment fee of 1.0% of the then outstanding balance of the Offered Notes. In addition, once the Class A Notes, Class A-S Notes, Class B Notes and Class C Notes have been repaid in full, the Issuer has the right to redeem the Class D Notes, subject to paying a make whole prepayment fee of 1.0% on the Class D Notes. As the directing holder of the CLO Securitization, the Company has the ability to direct activities that could significantly impact the CLO Securitization’s economic performance. ACRES is designated as special servicer of the CLO Securitization and has the power to direct activities during the loan workout process on defaulted and delinquent loans, which is the activity that most significantly impacts the CLO Securitization’s economic performance. ACRES did not waive the special servicing fee, and the Company pays its overhead costs. If an unrelated third party had the right to unilaterally remove the special servicer, then the Company would not have the power to direct activities that most significantly impact the CLO Securitization’s economic performance. In addition, there were no substantive kick-out rights of any unrelated third party to remove the special servicer without cause. The Company’s subsidiaries, as directing holders, have the ability to remove the special servicer without cause. Based on these factors, the Company is determined to be the primary beneficiary of the CLO Securitization; thus, the CLO Securitization is consolidated into the Company’s consolidated financial statements. The CLO Securitization is consolidated in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 810 and is structured as a pass through entity that receives principal and interest on the underlying collateral and distributes those payments to the note holders, as applicable. The assets and other instruments held by the CLO Securitization are restricted and can only be used to fulfill the obligations of the CLO Securitization. Additionally, the obligations of the CLO Securitization do not have any recourse to the general credit of any other consolidated entities, nor to the Company as the primary beneficiary. The inclusion of the assets and liabilities of the CLO Securitization of which the Company is deemed the primary beneficiary has no economic effect on the Company. The Company’s exposure to the obligations of the CLO Securitization is generally limited to its investment in the entity. The Company is not obligated to provide, nor has it provided, any financial support for the consolidated structure. As such, the risk associated with the Company’s involvement in the CLO Securitization is limited to the carrying value of its investment in the entity. As of March 31, 2018 , the Company’s maximum risk of loss was $68.2 million , which represents the carrying value of its investment in the CLO Securitization. For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company incurred interest expense related to the CLO Securitization of $2.3 million and $599 thousand , respectively, which is included within interest expense in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations.

SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

SUBSEQUENT EVENTS	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
Subsequent Events [Abstract]
SUBSEQUENT EVENTS	SUBSEQUENT EVENTS The Company’s management has evaluated subsequent events through the date of issuance of the consolidated financial statements included herein. There have been no subsequent events that occurred during such period that would require disclosure in this Form 10-Q or would be required to be recognized in the consolidated financial statements as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2018 , except as disclosed below. On April 17, 2018, the Company originated a $ 39.2 million senior mortgage loan on a multifamily property located in South Carolina. At closing, the outstanding principal balance was approximately $ 38.5 million. The loan has a per annum interest rate of LIBOR plus a spread of 3.36 % (plus fees) and an initial term of three years. On April 17, 2018, the Company originated a $ 32.9 million senior mortgage loan on a hotel property located in Illinois. At closing, the outstanding principal balance was approximately $ 18.9 million. The loan has a per annum interest rate of LIBOR plus a spread of 4.40 % (plus fees) and an initial term of three years. On May 1, 2018 , the Company declared a cash dividend of $0.28 per common share for the second quarter of 2018 . The second quarter 2018 dividend is payable on July 17, 2018 to common stockholders of record as of June 29, 2018 .

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICI20

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the accrual basis of accounting in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and include the accounts of the Company, the consolidated variable interest entities (“VIEs”) that the Company controls and of which the Company is the primary beneficiary, and the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiaries. The consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments and reclassifications that, in the opinion of management, are necessary for the fair presentation of the Company’s results of operations and financial condition as of and for the periods presented. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. Interim financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP and pursuant to the requirements for reporting on Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. The current period’s results of operations will not necessarily be indicative of results that ultimately may be achieved for the year ending December 31, 2018 .
Variable Interest Entities	Variable Interest Entities The Company evaluates all of its interests in VIEs for consolidation. When the Company’s interests are determined to be variable interests, the Company assesses whether it is deemed to be the primary beneficiary of the VIE. The primary beneficiary of a VIE is required to consolidate the VIE. Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 810, Consolidation , defines the primary beneficiary as the party that has both (i) the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact its economic performance, and (ii) the obligation to absorb losses and the right to receive benefits from the VIE which could be potentially significant. The Company considers its variable interests, as well as any variable interests of its related parties in making this determination. Where both of these factors are present, the Company is deemed to be the primary beneficiary and it consolidates the VIE. Where either one of these factors is not present, the Company is not the primary beneficiary and it does not consolidate the VIE. To assess whether the Company has the power to direct the activities of a VIE that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance, the Company considers all facts and circumstances, including its role in establishing the VIE and its ongoing rights and responsibilities. This assessment includes first, identifying the activities that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance; and second, identifying which party, if any, has power over those activities. In general, the parties that make the most significant decisions affecting the VIE or have the right to unilaterally remove those decision makers are deemed to have the power to direct the activities of a VIE. To assess whether the Company has the obligation to absorb losses of the VIE or the right to receive benefits from the VIE that could potentially be significant to the VIE, the Company considers all of its economic interests, including debt and equity investments, servicing fees, and other arrangements deemed to be variable interests in the VIE. This assessment requires that the Company applies judgment in determining whether these interests, in the aggregate, are considered potentially significant to the VIE. Factors considered in assessing significance include: the design of the VIE, including its capitalization structure; subordination of interests; payment priority; relative share of interests held across various classes within the VIE’s capital structure; and the reasons why the interests are held by the Company. For VIEs of which the Company is determined to be the primary beneficiary, all of the underlying assets, liabilities, equity, revenue and expenses of the structures are consolidated into the Company’s consolidated financial statements. The Company performs an ongoing reassessment of: (1) whether any entities previously evaluated under the majority voting interest framework have become VIEs, based on certain events, and therefore are subject to the VIE consolidation framework, and (2) whether changes in the facts and circumstances regarding its involvement with a VIE cause the Company’s consolidation conclusion regarding the VIE to change.
Loans Held for Investment	Loans Held for Investment The Company originates CRE debt and related instruments generally to be held for investment. Loans that are held for investment are carried at cost, net of unamortized loan fees and origination costs, unless the loans are deemed impaired. Impairment occurs when it is deemed probable that the Company will not be able to collect all amounts due according to the contractual terms of the loan. If a loan is considered to be impaired, the Company will record an allowance to reduce the carrying value of the loan to the present value of expected future cash flows discounted at the loan’s contractual effective rate. Each loan classified as held for investment is evaluated for impairment on a quarterly basis. Loans are generally collateralized by real estate. The extent of any credit deterioration associated with the performance and/or value of the underlying collateral property and the financial and operating capability of the borrower could impact the expected amounts received. The Company monitors performance of its investment portfolio under the following methodology: (1) borrower review, which analyzes the borrower’s ability to execute on its original business plan, reviews its financial condition, assesses pending litigation and considers its general level of responsiveness and cooperation; (2) economic review, which considers underlying collateral (i.e. leasing performance, unit sales and cash flow of the collateral and its ability to cover debt service, as well as the residual loan balance at maturity); (3) property review, which considers current environmental risks, changes in insurance costs or coverage, current site visibility, capital expenditures and market perception; and (4) market review, which analyzes the collateral from a supply and demand perspective of similar property types, as well as from a capital markets perspective. Such impairment analyses are completed and reviewed by asset management and finance personnel who utilize various data sources, including periodic financial data such as property occupancy, tenant profile, rental rates, operating expenses, and the borrower’s exit plan, among other factors. In addition, the Company evaluates the entire portfolio to determine whether the portfolio has any impairment that requires a valuation allowance on the remainder of the loan portfolio. As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the Company did not recognize any impairment charges with respect to its loans held for investment. Loans are generally placed on non-accrual status when principal or interest payments are past due 30 days or more or when there is reasonable doubt that principal or interest will be collected in full. Accrued and unpaid interest is generally reversed against interest income in the period the loan is placed on non-accrual status. Interest payments received on non-accrual loans may be recognized as income or applied to principal depending upon management’s judgment regarding the borrower’s ability to make pending principal and interest payments. Non-accrual loans are restored to accrual status when past due principal and interest are paid and, in management’s judgment, are likely to remain current. The Company may make exceptions to placing a loan on non-accrual status if the loan has sufficient collateral value and is in the process of collection. Preferred equity investments, which are subordinate to any loans but senior to common equity, are accounted for as loans held for investment and are carried at cost, net of unamortized loan fees and origination costs, unless the loans are deemed impaired, and are included within loans held for investment in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. The Company accretes or amortizes any discounts or premiums over the life of the related loan held for investment utilizing the effective interest method.
Debt Issuance Costs	Debt Issuance Costs Debt issuance costs under the Company’s indebtedness are capitalized and amortized over the term of the respective debt instrument. Unamortized debt issuance costs are expensed when the associated debt is repaid prior to maturity. Debt issuance costs related to debt securitizations are capitalized and amortized over the term of the underlying loans using the effective interest method. When an underlying loan is prepaid in a debt securitization and the outstanding principal balance of the securitization debt is reduced, the related unamortized debt issuance costs are charged to expense based on a pro‑rata share of the debt issuance costs being allocated to the specific loans that were prepaid. Amortization of debt issuance costs is included within interest expense in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations while the unamortized balance on (i) Secured Funding Agreements (each individually defined in Note 4 included in these consolidated financial statements) is included within other assets and (ii) the Secured Term Loan (defined in Note 4 included in these consolidated financial statements) and debt securitizations are both included as a reduction to the carrying amount of the liability, in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. The original issue discount (“OID”) on amounts drawn under the Company’s Secured Term Loan represents a discount to the face amount of the drawn debt obligations. The OID is amortized over the term of the Secured Term Loan using the effective interest method and is included within interest expense in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations while the unamortized balance is included as a reduction to the carrying amount of the Secured Term Loan in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets.
Revenue Recognition	Revenue Recognition Interest income from loans held for investment is accrued based on the outstanding principal amount and the contractual terms of each loan. For loans held for investment, origination fees, contractual exit fees and direct loan origination costs are also recognized in interest income from loans held for investment over the initial loan term as a yield adjustment using the effective interest method.
Net Interest Margin and Interest Expense	Net Interest Margin and Interest Expense Net interest margin in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations serves to measure the performance of the Company's loans held for investment as compared to its use of debt leverage. The Company includes interest income from its loans held for investment and interest expense related to its Secured Funding Agreements, securitizations debt and the Secured Term Loan (individually defined in Note 4 included in these consolidated financial statements) in net interest margin.
Comprehensive Income	Comprehensive Income For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 , comprehensive income equaled net income; therefore, a separate consolidated statement of comprehensive income is not included in the accompanying consolidated financial statements.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements	Recent Accounting Pronouncements In May 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) . The guidance in this ASU supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in Revenue Recognition (Topic 605) . Under the new guidance, an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The amendments in ASU No. 2014-09 are effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within that reporting period. The Company has assessed and determined that the application of this guidance does not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements, primarily because the majority of the Company’s revenue is accounted for under FASB ASC Topic 310, Receivables , which is excluded from this standard. In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments . The standard will replace the incurred loss impairment methodology pursuant to GAAP with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates. ASU No. 2016-13 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within that reporting period, with early adoption permitted after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within that reporting period. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting this ASU on its consolidated financial statements. In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash (A Consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force) . The amendments in this update require that a statement of cash flows explain the change during the period in the total of cash, cash equivalents, and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. Therefore, amounts generally described as restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents should be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts shown on the statement of cash flows. The Company adopted ASU No. 2016-18 in the first quarter of 2018 and applied the guidance retrospectively to the prior period consolidated statement of cash flows.

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICI21

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Restrictions on Cash and Cash Equivalents	The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash in the consolidated balance sheets to the total amount shown in the consolidated statements of cash flows ($ in thousands): As of March 31, 2018 March 31, 2017 Cash and cash equivalents $ 5,201 $ 44,400 Restricted cash 379 380 Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash shown in the Company's consolidated statements of cash flows $ 5,580 $ 44,780
Reconciliation of interest income from loan held for investment	A reconciliation of the Company's interest income from loans held for investment, excluding non-controlling interests, to the Company's interest income from loans held for investment as included within its consolidated statements of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 is as follows ($ in thousands): For the three months ended March 31, 2018 2017 Interest income from loans held for investment, excluding non-controlling interests $ 27,436 $ 21,092 Interest income from non-controlling interest investment held by third parties — 35 Interest income from loans held for investment $ 27,436 $ 21,127
Schedule of interest expense	For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 , interest expense is comprised of the following ($ in thousands): For the three months ended March 31, 2018 2017 Secured funding agreements and securitizations debt $ 12,301 $ 7,468 Secured term loan 1,998 3,320 Interest expense $ 14,299 $ 10,788

LOANS HELD FOR INVESTMENT (Tabl

LOANS HELD FOR INVESTMENT (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
Receivables [Abstract]
Schedule of loans held for investments	The Company’s investments in loans held for investment are accounted for at amortized cost. The following tables summarize the Company’s loans held for investment as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 ($ in thousands): As of March 31, 2018 Carrying Amount (1) Outstanding Principal (1) Weighted Average Minimum Loan Borrowing Spread (2) Weighted Average Unleveraged Effective Yield (3) Weighted Average Remaining Life (Years) Senior mortgage loans $ 1,606,225 $ 1,615,703 4.9 % 6.5 % 1.8 Subordinated debt and preferred equity investments 52,150 52,860 9.5 % 11.0 % 3.2 Total loans held for investment portfolio $ 1,658,375 $ 1,668,563 5.0 % 6.6 % 1.9 As of December 31, 2017 Carrying Amount (1) Outstanding Principal (1) Weighted Average Minimum Loan Borrowing Spread (2) Weighted Average Unleveraged Effective Yield (3) Weighted Average Remaining Life (Years) Senior mortgage loans $ 1,674,169 $ 1,684,439 4.8 % 6.2 % 1.9 Subordinated debt and preferred equity investments 52,114 52,847 9.5 % 10.8 % 3.4 Total loans held for investment portfolio $ 1,726,283 $ 1,737,286 5.0 % 6.3 % 2.0 _______________________________________________________________________________ (1) The difference between the Carrying Amount and the Outstanding Principal amount of the loans held for investment consists of unamortized purchase discount, deferred loan fees and loan origination costs. (2) Minimum Loan Borrowing Spread is equal to (a) for floating rate loans, the margin above the applicable index rate (e.g., LIBOR) plus floors, if any, on such applicable index rates, and (b) for fixed rate loans, the applicable interest rate. (3) Unleveraged Effective Yield is the compounded effective rate of return that would be earned over the life of the investment based on the contractual interest rate (adjusted for any deferred loan fees, costs, premium or discount) and assumes no dispositions, early prepayments or defaults. The Total Weighted Average Unleveraged Effective Yield is calculated based on the average of Unleveraged Effective Yield of all loans held by the Company as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 as weighted by the Outstanding Principal balance of each loan.
Schedule of current investment portfolio	A more detailed listing of the Company’s investment portfolio based on information available as of March 31, 2018 is as follows ($ in millions, except percentages): Loan Type Location Outstanding Principal (1) Carrying Amount (1) Interest Rate Unleveraged Effective Yield (2) Maturity Date (3) Payment Terms (4) Senior Mortgage Loans: Self Storage (5) Diversified $116.7 $116.4 L+4.35% 7.0% Oct 2018 I/O Office TX 96.9 96.1 L+3.60% 6.0% July 2020 I/O Multifamily FL 89.7 89.4 L+4.75% 7.2% Sep 2019 I/O Various (6) Diversified 82.3 82.1 L+4.75% 7.3% Oct 2018 I/O Mixed-use NY 65.6 65.4 L+4.16% 6.5% Apr 2019 I/O Multifamily UT 62.6 62.2 L+3.25% 5.4% Dec 2020 I/O Office IL 60.4 59.8 L+3.75% 6.2% Dec 2020 I/O Office IL 58.6 58.2 L+3.99% 6.3% Aug 2019 I/O Office CO 54.0 53.5 L+4.15% 6.4% June 2021 I/O Multifamily FL 53.8 53.4 L+3.65% 5.9% Mar 2021 I/O Industrial MN 51.6 51.1 L+3.15% 5.5% Dec 2020 I/O Office NJ 49.6 49.2 L+4.65% 7.2% July 2020 I/O Mixed-use CA 49.0 48.6 L+4.00% 6.3% Apr 2021 I/O Multifamily FL 45.4 45.3 L+4.75% 7.2% Sep 2019 I/O Multifamily TX 42.7 42.4 L+3.30% 5.5% Dec 2020 I/O Student Housing CA 41.8 41.4 L+3.95% 6.4% July 2020 I/O Student Housing TX 40.1 39.8 L+4.75% 7.2% Jan 2021 I/O Hotel CA 40.0 39.7 L+4.12% 6.4% Jan 2021 I/O Student Housing NC 38.7 38.5 L+4.00% 7.7% Feb 2019 I/O Hotel NY 38.6 38.6 L+4.75% 7.1% June 2018 I/O Hotel MI 35.2 35.2 L+4.15% 6.0% July 2018 I/O Multifamily NY 31.3 31.2 L+4.55% 6.9% Feb 2019 I/O Multifamily NY 29.5 29.5 L+3.75% 5.9% Oct 2018 P/I (7) Multifamily NY 29.4 29.1 L+3.20% 5.4% Dec 2020 I/O Industrial OH 27.5 27.4 L+4.20% 6.4% May 2019 (8) P/I (7) Multifamily TX 27.5 27.3 L+3.20% 5.6% Oct 2020 I/O Multifamily TX 26.3 26.2 L+3.80% 5.8% Jan 2019 I/O Multifamily CA 25.7 25.5 L+3.85% 6.2% July 2020 I/O Student Housing AL 24.1 23.9 L+4.45% 6.9% Feb 2020 I/O Student Housing TX 24.0 23.8 L+4.10% 6.5% Jan 2021 I/O Multifamily CA 22.7 22.6 L+3.90% 6.1% Mar 2021 I/O Multifamily FL 22.5 22.4 L+4.25% 6.8% Feb 2019 I/O Office PA 19.6 19.5 L+4.70% 7.1% Mar 2020 I/O Office FL 18.4 18.3 L+4.30% 6.8% Apr 2020 I/O Multifamily FL 18.4 18.3 L+4.00% 6.2% Nov 2020 I/O Multifamily CA 18.0 17.8 L+3.30% 5.6% Feb 2021 I/O Multifamily NY 16.3 16.3 L+4.35% 6.5% Nov 2018 I/O Multifamily CA 13.9 13.8 L+3.80% 6.1% July 2020 I/O Residential CA 7.3 7.0 12.00% 14.7% Feb 2020 I/O Subordinated Debt and Preferred Equity Investments: Multifamily NY 33.3 33.3 L+8.07% 10.2% Jan 2019 I/O Office NJ 17.0 16.3 12.00% 12.8% Jan 2026 I/O (7) Office CA 2.6 2.6 L+8.25% 10.3% Nov 2021 I/O Total/Weighted Average $1,668.6 $1,658.4 6.6% _______________________________________________________________________________ (1) The difference between the Carrying Amount and the Outstanding Principal amount of the loans held for investment consists of unamortized purchase discount, deferred loan fees and loan origination costs. (2) Unleveraged Effective Yield is the compounded effective rate of return that would be earned over the life of the investment based on the contractual interest rate (adjusted for any deferred loan fees, costs, premium or discount) and assumes no dispositions, early prepayments or defaults. Unleveraged Effective Yield for each loan is calculated based on LIBOR as of March 31, 2018 or the LIBOR floor, as applicable. The Weighted Average Unleveraged Effective Yield is calculated based on the average of Unleveraged Effective Yield of all loans held by the Company as of March 31, 2018 as weighted by the Outstanding Principal balance of each loan. (3) Certain loans are subject to contractual extension options that vary between one and two 12 -month extensions and may be subject to performance based or other conditions as stipulated in the loan agreement. Actual maturities may differ from contractual maturities stated herein as certain borrowers may have the right to prepay with or without paying a prepayment penalty. The Company may also extend contractual maturities and amend other terms of the loans in connection with loan modifications. (4) I/O = interest only, P/I = principal and interest. (5) Prior to December 2017, the $ 116.7 million senior mortgage loan collateralized by a portfolio of self storage properties was in payment default due to the failure of the borrower to repay an amount equal to $ 42.5 million with respect to the retail and office properties (which included $ 37.0 million of allocated loan amount and $ 5.5 million of release premium). This payment amount was due in September 2017, which was prior to the initial maturity date of the loan in October 2018. In December 2017, the borrower repaid $ 25.1 million with respect to the office property (which included $ 21.8 million of allocated loan amount and $ 3.3 million of release premium). In conjunction with the repayment with respect to the office property, the senior mortgage loan was modified to, among other things, waive the payment default on the loan and extend the repayment obligation with respect to the retail property to January 2018. On January 31, 2018, the Company received a repayment of outstanding principal of $ 17.4 million (which included $ 15.1 million of allocated loan amount and $ 2.3 million of release premium). The principal repayments related to the retail and office properties resulted in the release of the retail and office properties from the collateral pool. Subsequent to the principal repayments, the outstanding principal balance of the senior mortgage loan was $ 116.7 million and was collateralized by a portfolio of self storage properties. (6) Prior to December 2017, the $ 82.3 million senior mortgage loan collateralized by a portfolio of self storage properties and one retail property was in payment default due to the failure of the borrower to repay an amount equal to $ 13.9 million with respect to the retail property (which included $ 12.1 million of allocated loan amount and $ 1.8 million of release premium). This payment amount was due in September 2017, which was prior to the initial maturity date of the loan in October 2018. In December 2017, the senior mortgage loan was modified to, among other things, waive the payment default on the loan and extend the repayment obligation with respect to the retail property to the maturity date of the loan in October 2018. The senior mortgage loan continues to have a recourse payment guarantee of up to $ 12.1 million from an individual who is the indirect owner of the underlying collateral and an affiliate of the borrower. (7) In May 2017, amortization began on the senior Ohio loan, which had an outstanding principal balance of $27.5 million as of March 31, 2018 . In October 2017, amortization began on the senior New York loan, which had an outstanding principal balance of $29.5 million as of March 31, 2018 . In February 2021, amortization will begin on the subordinated New Jersey loan, which had an outstanding principal balance of $ 17.0 million as of March 31, 2018 . The remainder of the loans in the Company’s portfolio are non-amortizing through their primary terms. (8) In February 2018, the borrower exercised a one-year extension option in accordance with the loan agreement, which extended the maturity date on the senior Ohio loan to May 2019.
Schedule of activity in loan portfolio	For the three months ended March 31, 2018 , the activity in the Company’s loan portfolio was as follows ($ in thousands): Balance at December 31, 2017 $ 1,726,283 Initial funding 74,110 Origination fees and discounts, net of costs (1,040 ) Additional funding 3,218 Amortizing payments (233 ) Loan payoffs (145,817 ) Origination fee accretion 1,854 Balance at March 31, 2018 $ 1,658,375

DEBT (Tables)

DEBT (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]
Schedule of outstanding balances and total commitments under Financing Agreements	The Company borrows funds, as applicable in a given period, under the Wells Fargo Facility, the Citibank Facility, the BAML Facility, the CNB Facility, the MetLife Facility, the UBS Facility and the U.S. Bank Facility (individually defined below and collectively, the “Secured Funding Agreements”) and the Secured Term Loan (as defined below). The Company refers to the Secured Funding Agreements and the Secured Term Loan as the “Financing Agreements.” The outstanding balance of the Financing Agreements in the table below are presented gross of debt issuance costs. As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 , the outstanding balances and total commitments under the Financing Agreements consisted of the following ($ in thousands): March 31, 2018 December 31, 2017 Outstanding Balance Total Outstanding Balance Total Wells Fargo Facility $ 384,432 $ 500,000 $ 407,853 $ 500,000 Citibank Facility 174,075 250,000 (1) 175,651 250,000 (1) BAML Facility 56,320 125,000 78,320 125,000 CNB Facility 15,260 50,000 — 50,000 MetLife Facility 101,131 180,000 101,131 180,000 UBS Facility 34,000 140,000 34,000 140,000 U.S. Bank Facility 164,236 185,989 161,005 185,989 Secured Term Loan 110,000 110,000 110,000 110,000 Total $ 1,039,454 $ 1,540,989 $ 1,067,960 $ 1,540,989 ______________________________________________________________________________ (1) The Citibank Facility (as defined below) has an accordion feature that provides for an increase in the $250.0 million commitment amount with respect to approved assets, as determined by Citibank, N.A. in its sole discretion.

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Schedule of loan commitments	As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 , the Company had the following commitments to fund various senior mortgage loans, subordinated debt investments, as well as preferred equity investments accounted for as loans held for investment ($ in thousands): As of March 31, 2018 December 31, 2017 Total commitments $ 1,788,189 $ 1,847,534 Less: funded commitments (1,668,563 ) (1,737,286 ) Total unfunded commitments $ 119,626 $ 110,248

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY (Tables)

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]
Schedule of restricted stock grants awarded	The following table details the restricted stock grants awarded as of March 31, 2018 : Grant Date Vesting Start Date Shares Granted May 1, 2012 July 1, 2012 35,135 June 18, 2012 July 1, 2012 7,027 July 9, 2012 October 1, 2012 25,000 June 26, 2013 July 1, 2013 22,526 November 25, 2013 November 25, 2016 30,381 January 31, 2014 August 31, 2015 48,273 February 26, 2014 February 26, 2014 12,030 February 27, 2014 August 27, 2014 22,354 June 24, 2014 June 24, 2014 17,658 June 24, 2015 July 1, 2015 25,555 April 25, 2016 July 1, 2016 10,000 June 27, 2016 July 1, 2016 24,680 April 25, 2017 April 25, 2018 81,710 June 7, 2017 July 1, 2017 18,224 October 17, 2017 January 2, 2018 7,278 December 15, 2017 January 2, 2018 8,948 Total 396,779
Schedule of restricted stock award activity	The following tables summarize the (i) non-vested shares of restricted stock and (ii) the vesting schedule of shares of restricted stock for the Company’s directors and officers as of March 31, 2018 : Schedule of Non-Vested Share and Share Equivalents Restricted Stock Grants—Directors Restricted Stock Grants—Officers Total Balance at December 31, 2017 21,394 90,658 112,052 Granted — — — Vested (6,942 ) (2,231 ) (9,173 ) Forfeited — — — Balance at March 31, 2018 14,452 88,427 102,879
Future anticipated vesting schedule of restricted stock awards	Future Anticipated Vesting Schedule Restricted Stock Grants—Directors Restricted Stock Grants—Officers Total 2018 9,448 33,954 43,402 2019 3,336 27,237 30,573 2020 1,668 27,236 28,904 2021 — — — 2022 — — — Total 14,452 88,427 102,879

EARNINGS PER SHARE (Tables)

EARNINGS PER SHARE (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Schedule of computations of basic and diluted earnings per share	The following information sets forth the computations of basic and diluted earnings per common share for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 ($ in thousands, except share and per share data): For the three months ended March 31, 2018 2017 Net income attributable to common stockholders $ 9,318 $ 6,453 Divided by: Basic weighted average shares of common stock outstanding: 28,495,833 28,468,819 Non-vested restricted stock 103,083 13,937 Diluted weighted average shares of common stock outstanding: 28,598,916 28,482,756 Basic and diluted earnings per common share $ 0.33 $ 0.23

INCOME TAX (Tables)

INCOME TAX (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Schedule of components of the TRS's income tax provision	The income tax provision for the Company and the TRSs consisted of the following for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 ($ in thousands): For the three months ended March 31, 2018 2017 Current $ 6 $ 3 Deferred — — Excise tax 75 65 Total income tax expense, including excise tax $ 81 $ 68

FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTR28

FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]
Schedule of carrying value and estimated fair value of the Company's financial instruments not carried at fair value on the consolidated balance sheet	As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 , the carrying values and fair values of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities recorded at cost are as follows ($ in thousands): As of March 31, 2018 December 31, 2017 Level in Fair Value Hierarchy Carrying Value Fair Value Carrying Value Fair Value Financial assets: Loans held for investment 3 $ 1,658,375 $ 1,668,563 $ 1,726,283 $ 1,737,286 Financial liabilities: Secured funding agreements 2 $ 929,454 $ 929,454 $ 957,960 $ 957,960 Secured term loan 2 107,797 110,000 107,595 110,000 Collateralized loan obligation securitization debt (consolidated VIE) 3 271,393 272,927 271,211 272,927

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS (Tab

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
Related Party Transactions [Abstract]
Summary of related-party costs incurred by the Company and amounts payable to the Manager	The following table summarizes the related party costs incurred by the Company for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 and amounts payable to the Company’s Manager as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 ($ in thousands): Incurred Payable For the three months ended March 31, As of 2018 2017 March 31, 2018 December 31, 2017 Affiliate Payments Management fees $ 1,558 $ 1,544 $ 1,558 $ 1,549 Incentive fees — 268 — — General and administrative expenses 924 948 924 1,016 Direct costs (1) 103 60 49 63 Total $ 2,585 $ 2,820 $ 2,531 $ 2,628 ______________________________________________________________________________ (1) For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, direct costs incurred are included within general and administrative expenses in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations.

DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS (Ta

DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS
Summary of the Company's dividends declared	The following table summarizes the Company’s dividends declared during the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 ($ in thousands, except per share data): Date Declared Record Date Payment Date Per Share Amount Total Amount March 1, 2018 March 29, 2018 April 17, 2018 $ 0.28 $ 8,008 Total cash dividends declared for the three months ended March 31, 2018 $ 0.28 $ 8,008 March 7, 2017 March 31, 2017 April 17, 2017 $ 0.27 $ 7,690 Total cash dividends declared for the three months ended March 31, 2017 $ 0.27 $ 7,690

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICI31

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - Schedule of Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 5,201	$ 28,343	$ 44,400
Restricted cash	379	379	380
Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash shown in the Company's consolidated statements of cash flows	$ 5,580	$ 28,722	$ 44,780	$ 47,645

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICI32

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - Disclosures (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018	Mar. 31, 2017
Revenue Recognition [Abstract]
Interest income from loans held for investment, excluding non-controlling interests	$ 27,436	$ 21,092
Interest income from non-controlling interest investment held by third parties	0	35
Interest income from loans held for investment	$ 27,436	$ 21,127

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICI33

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - Schedule of Interest Expense (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018	Mar. 31, 2017
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest expense	$ 14,299	$ 10,788
Secured funding agreements and securitizations debt
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest expense	12,301	7,468
Secured term loan
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest expense	$ 1,998	$ 3,320

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICI34

SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - Narrative (Details)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Minimum period of past due for loans to be placed on non accrual status	30 days

LOANS HELD FOR INVESTMENT - Nar

LOANS HELD FOR INVESTMENT - Narrative (Details) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018USD ($)Loan
Receivables [Abstract]
Number of loans originated or co-originated | Loan	42
Number of loans repaid or sold | Loan	63
Total Commitment	$ 1,900
Loans held for investment	1,700
Amount funded	77.3
Amount of repayments	$ 146.1
Percentage of loans held for investment having LIBOR floors	86.80%
Weighted average floor (as a percent)	0.87%

LOANS HELD FOR INVESTMENT - Loa

LOANS HELD FOR INVESTMENT - Loans held for Investments (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Carrying Amount	$ 1,658,375	$ 1,726,283
Outstanding Principal	$ 1,668,563	$ 1,737,286
Weighted Average Minimum Loan Borrowing Spread	5.00%	5.00%
Weighted Average Unleveraged Effective Yield	6.60%	6.30%
Weighted Average Remaining Life	1 year 10 months 24 days	2 years
Senior mortgage loans
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Carrying Amount	$ 1,606,225	$ 1,674,169
Outstanding Principal	$ 1,615,703	$ 1,684,439
Weighted Average Minimum Loan Borrowing Spread	4.90%	4.80%
Weighted Average Unleveraged Effective Yield	6.50%	6.20%
Weighted Average Remaining Life	1 year 9 months 18 days	1 year 10 months 24 days
Subordinated debt and preferred equity investments
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Carrying Amount	$ 52,150	$ 52,114
Outstanding Principal	$ 52,860	$ 52,847
Weighted Average Minimum Loan Borrowing Spread	9.50%	9.50%
Weighted Average Unleveraged Effective Yield	11.00%	10.80%
Weighted Average Remaining Life	3 years 2 months 12 days	3 years 4 months 24 days

LOANS HELD FOR INVESTMENT - Rec

LOANS HELD FOR INVESTMENT - Reconciliation of Loans Held for Investment (Details) - USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Carrying Amount	$ 1,658,375,000	$ 1,726,283,000
Total loans held for investment portfolio (excluding non-controlling interests held by third parties), outstanding principal	1,668,563,000	1,737,286,000
Loans held for investment, carrying amount	1,658,375,000	$ 1,726,283,000
Non-controlling interest investment
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Loans held for investment, carrying amount	0
Loans held for investment, outstanding principal	$ 0

LOANS HELD FOR INVESTMENT - Inv

LOANS HELD FOR INVESTMENT - Investment Portfolio (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018USD ($)extension_option	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2018USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2017USD ($)
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 1,668,563	$ 1,737,286
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate, Principal Amount of Delinquent Loans		21,800	$ 15,100
Carrying Amount	$ 1,658,375	$ 1,726,283
Fixed interest rate	5.00%	5.00%
Unleveraged Effective Yield	6.60%	6.30%
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate, Write-down or Reserve, Amount		$ 3,300	2,300
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate, Recourse Payment Guarantee		12,100
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate, Delinquent Principal or Interest, Acquired from Affiliates		25,100	17,400
Minimum
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Number of extension options | extension_option	1
Maximum
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Number of extension options | extension_option	2
Extension period of maturity date	12 months
Senior Mortgage Loans | Industrial | NEW YORK
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 29,500
Senior Mortgage Loans | Industrial | NEW JERSEY
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	17,000
Senior Mortgage Loans | Industrial | OHIO
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 27,500
Senior Mortgage Loans | Residential | NEW YORK
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Fixed interest rate	12.00%
Senior Mortgage Loans | Residential | CALIFORNIA
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 7,300
Carrying Amount	$ 7,000
Unleveraged Effective Yield	14.70%
Subordinated debt and preferred equity investments | Office | CALIFORNIA
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 17,000
Carrying Amount	$ 16,300
Fixed interest rate	12.00%
Unleveraged Effective Yield	12.80%
LIBOR Plus 4.35%, Due October 2018 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Self Storage | Diversified
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 116,700
Carrying Amount	$ 116,400
Unleveraged Effective Yield	7.00%
LIBOR Plus 4.35%, Due October 2018 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Self Storage | Diversified | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	4.35%
LIBOR Plus 4.35%, Due October 2018 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Various | Diversified
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal			$ 116,700
LIBOR Plus 4.35%, Due October 2018 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Retail and Office | Diversified
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal				$ 37,000
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate, Principal Amount of Delinquent Loans				42,500
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate, Write-down or Reserve, Amount				5,500
LIBOR Plus 3.60%, Due July 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Office | TEXAS
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 96,900
Carrying Amount	$ 96,100
Unleveraged Effective Yield	6.00%
LIBOR Plus 3.60%, Due July 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Office | TEXAS | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	3.60%
LIBOR Plus 4.75%, Due September 2019, Instrument 1 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | FLORIDA
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 89,700
Carrying Amount	$ 89,400
Unleveraged Effective Yield	7.20%
LIBOR Plus 4.75%, Due September 2019, Instrument 1 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | FLORIDA | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	4.75%
LIBOR Plus 4.75%, Due October 2018 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Various | Diversified
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 82,300	$ 82,300
Carrying Amount	$ 82,100
Unleveraged Effective Yield	7.30%
LIBOR Plus 4.75%, Due October 2018 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Various | Diversified | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	4.75%
LIBOR Plus 4.75%, Due October 2018 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Retail | Diversified
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal				12,100
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate, Principal Amount of Delinquent Loans				13,900
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate, Write-down or Reserve, Amount				$ 1,800
LIBOR Plus 4.16%, Due April 2019 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Mixed-use | NEW YORK
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 65,600
Carrying Amount	$ 65,400
Unleveraged Effective Yield	6.50%
LIBOR Plus 4.16%, Due April 2019 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Mixed-use | NEW YORK | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	4.16%
LIBOR Plus 3.25%, Due December 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | UTAH
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 62,600
Carrying Amount	$ 62,200
Unleveraged Effective Yield	5.40%
LIBOR Plus 3.25%, Due December 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | UTAH | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	3.25%
LIBOR Plus 3.75%, Due December 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Office | ILLINOIS
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 60,400
Carrying Amount	$ 59,800
Unleveraged Effective Yield	6.20%
LIBOR Plus 3.75%, Due December 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Office | ILLINOIS | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	3.75%
LIBOR Plus 3.99%, Due August 2019 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Office | ILLINOIS
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 58,600
Carrying Amount	$ 58,200
Unleveraged Effective Yield	6.30%
LIBOR Plus 3.99%, Due August 2019 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Office | ILLINOIS | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	3.99%
LIBOR Plus 4.15%, Due June 2021 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Office | COLORADO
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 54,000
Carrying Amount	$ 53,500
Unleveraged Effective Yield	6.40%
LIBOR Plus 4.15%, Due June 2021 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Office | COLORADO | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	4.15%
LIBOR Plus 3.65%, Due March 2021 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | FLORIDA
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 53,800
Carrying Amount	$ 53,400
Unleveraged Effective Yield	5.90%
LIBOR Plus 3.65%, Due March 2021 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | FLORIDA | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	3.65%
LIBOR Plus 3.15%, Due December 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Industrial | MINNESOTA
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 51,600
Carrying Amount	$ 51,100
Unleveraged Effective Yield	5.50%
LIBOR Plus 3.15%, Due December 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Industrial | MINNESOTA | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	3.15%
LIBOR Plus 4.65%, Due June 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Office | NEW JERSEY
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 49,600
Carrying Amount	$ 49,200
Unleveraged Effective Yield	7.20%
LIBOR Plus 4.65%, Due June 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Office | NEW JERSEY | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	4.65%
LIBOR Plus 4.00%, Due April 2021 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Mixed-use | CALIFORNIA
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 49,000
Carrying Amount	$ 48,600
Unleveraged Effective Yield	6.30%
LIBOR Plus 4.00%, Due April 2021 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Mixed-use | CALIFORNIA | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	4.00%
LIBOR Plus 4.75%, Due September 2019, Instrument 2 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | FLORIDA
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 45,400
Carrying Amount	$ 45,300
Unleveraged Effective Yield	7.20%
LIBOR Plus 4.75%, Due September 2019, Instrument 2 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | FLORIDA | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	4.75%
LIBOR Plus 3.30%, Due December 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | TEXAS
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 42,700
Carrying Amount	$ 42,400
Unleveraged Effective Yield	5.50%
LIBOR Plus 3.30%, Due December 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | TEXAS | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	3.30%
LIBOR Plus 3.95%, Due July 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Student Housing | CALIFORNIA
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 41,800
Carrying Amount	$ 41,400
Unleveraged Effective Yield	6.40%
LIBOR Plus 3.95%, Due July 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Student Housing | CALIFORNIA | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	3.95%
LIBOR Plus 4.75%, Due Jan 2021 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Student Housing | TEXAS
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 40,100
Carrying Amount	$ 39,800
Unleveraged Effective Yield	7.20%
LIBOR Plus 4.75%, Due Jan 2021 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Student Housing | TEXAS | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	4.75%
LIBOR Plus 4.12%, Due January 2021 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Hotel | CALIFORNIA
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 40,000
Carrying Amount	$ 39,700
Unleveraged Effective Yield	6.40%
LIBOR Plus 4.12%, Due January 2021 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Hotel | CALIFORNIA | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	4.12%
LIBOR Plus 4.00%, Due February 2019 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Student Housing | NORTH CAROLINA
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 38,700
Carrying Amount	$ 38,500
Unleveraged Effective Yield	7.70%
LIBOR Plus 4.00%, Due February 2019 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Student Housing | NORTH CAROLINA | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	4.00%
LIBOR Plus 4.75%, Due June 2018 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Hotel | NEW YORK
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 38,600
Carrying Amount	$ 38,600
Unleveraged Effective Yield	7.10%
LIBOR Plus 4.75%, Due June 2018 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Hotel | NEW YORK | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	4.75%
LIBOR Plus 4.15%, Due July 2018 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Hotel | MICHIGAN
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 35,200
Carrying Amount	$ 35,200
Unleveraged Effective Yield	6.00%
LIBOR Plus 4.15%, Due July 2018 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Hotel | MICHIGAN | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	4.15%
LIBOR Plus 4.55%, Due February 2019 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | NEW YORK
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 31,300
Carrying Amount	$ 31,200
Unleveraged Effective Yield	6.90%
LIBOR Plus 4.55%, Due February 2019 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | NEW YORK | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	4.55%
LIBOR Plus 3.75%, Due October 2018 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | NEW YORK
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 29,500
Carrying Amount	$ 29,500
Unleveraged Effective Yield	5.90%
LIBOR Plus 3.75%, Due October 2018 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | NEW YORK | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	3.75%
LIBOR Plus 3.20%, Due December 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | NEW YORK
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 29,400
Carrying Amount	$ 29,100
Unleveraged Effective Yield	5.40%
LIBOR Plus 3.20%, Due December 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | NEW YORK | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	3.20%
LIBOR Plus 4.20%, Due May 2019 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Industrial | OHIO
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 27,500
Carrying Amount	$ 27,400
Unleveraged Effective Yield	6.40%
LIBOR Plus 4.20%, Due May 2019 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Industrial | OHIO | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	4.20%
LIBOR Plus 3.20%, Due October 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | TEXAS
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 27,500
Carrying Amount	$ 27,300
Unleveraged Effective Yield	5.60%
LIBOR Plus 3.20%, Due October 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | TEXAS | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	3.20%
LIBOR Plus 3.80%, Due January 2019 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | TEXAS
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 26,300
Carrying Amount	$ 26,200
Unleveraged Effective Yield	5.80%
LIBOR Plus 3.80%, Due January 2019 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | TEXAS | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	3.80%
LIBOR Plus 3.85%, Due July 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | CALIFORNIA
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 25,700
Carrying Amount	$ 25,500
Unleveraged Effective Yield	6.20%
LIBOR Plus 3.85%, Due July 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | CALIFORNIA | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	3.85%
LIBOR Plus 4.45%, Due February 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Student Housing | ALABAMA
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 24,100
Carrying Amount	$ 23,900
Unleveraged Effective Yield	6.90%
LIBOR Plus 4.45%, Due February 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Student Housing | ALABAMA | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	4.45%
LIBOR Plus 4.10%, Due January 2021 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Student Housing | TEXAS
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 24,000
Carrying Amount	$ 23,800
Unleveraged Effective Yield	6.50%
LIBOR Plus 4.10%, Due January 2021 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Student Housing | TEXAS | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	4.10%
LIBOR Plus 3.90%, Due March 2021 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | CALIFORNIA
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 22,700
Carrying Amount	$ 22,600
Unleveraged Effective Yield	6.10%
LIBOR Plus 3.90%, Due March 2021 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | CALIFORNIA | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	3.90%
LIBOR Plus 4.25%, Due February 2019 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | FLORIDA
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 22,500
Carrying Amount	$ 22,400
Unleveraged Effective Yield	6.80%
LIBOR Plus 4.25%, Due February 2019 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | FLORIDA | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	4.25%
LIBOR Plus 4.70%, Due March 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Office | PENNSYLVANIA
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 19,600
Carrying Amount	$ 19,500
Unleveraged Effective Yield	7.10%
LIBOR Plus 4.70%, Due March 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Office | PENNSYLVANIA | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	4.70%
LIBOR Plus 4.30%, Due April 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Office | FLORIDA
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 18,400
Carrying Amount	$ 18,300
Unleveraged Effective Yield	6.80%
LIBOR Plus 4.30%, Due April 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Office | FLORIDA | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	4.30%
LIBOR Plus 4.00%, Due November 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | FLORIDA
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 18,400
Carrying Amount	$ 18,300
Unleveraged Effective Yield	6.20%
LIBOR Plus 4.00%, Due November 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | FLORIDA | LIBOR
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate	4.00%
LIBOR Plus 3.30%, Due February 2021 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | CALIFORNIA
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 18,000
Carrying Amount	$ 17,800
Basis spread on variable rate	3.30%
Unleveraged Effective Yield	5.60%
LIBOR Plus 4.35%, Due November 2018 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | NEW YORK
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 16,300
Carrying Amount	$ 16,300
Basis spread on variable rate	4.35%
Unleveraged Effective Yield	6.50%
LIBOR Plus 3.80%, Due July 2020 | Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | CALIFORNIA
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 13,900
Carrying Amount	$ 13,800
Basis spread on variable rate	3.80%
Unleveraged Effective Yield	6.10%
LIBOR Plus 8.07%, Due January 2019 | Subordinated debt and preferred equity investments | Multifamily | NEW YORK
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 33,300
Carrying Amount	$ 33,300
Basis spread on variable rate	8.07%
Unleveraged Effective Yield	10.20%
LIBOR Plus 8.25%, Due November 2021 | Subordinated debt and preferred equity investments | Office | CALIFORNIA
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Line Items]
Outstanding Principal	$ 2,600
Carrying Amount	$ 2,600
Basis spread on variable rate	8.25%
Unleveraged Effective Yield	10.30%

LOANS HELD FOR INVESTMENT - Por

LOANS HELD FOR INVESTMENT - Portfolio Activity (Details) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018	Mar. 31, 2017
Change in the activity of loan portfolio
Balance at the beginning of the period	$ 1,726,283,000
Initial funding	74,110,000
Origination fees and discounts, net of costs	(1,040,000)
Additional funding	3,218,000
Amortizing payments	(233,000)
Loan payoffs	(145,817,000)
Origination fee accretion	1,854,000	$ 1,454,000
Balance at the end of the period	1,658,375,000
Impairment charges recognized	$ 0	$ 0

DEBT - Schedule of outstanding

DEBT - Schedule of outstanding balances and total commitments under Financing Agreements (Details) - USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding Balance	$ 1,039,454,000	$ 1,067,960,000
Total Commitment	1,540,989,000	1,540,989,000
Secured Term Loan
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding Balance	110,000,000	110,000,000
Total Commitment	110,000,000	110,000,000
Wells Fargo Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding Balance	384,432,000	407,853,000
Total Commitment	500,000,000	500,000,000
Wells Fargo Facility | Secured revolving funding facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total Commitment	500,000,000
Citibank Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding Balance	174,075,000	175,651,000
Total Commitment	250,000,000	250,000,000
Citibank Facility | Secured revolving funding facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total Commitment	250,000,000
BAML Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding Balance	56,320,000	78,320,000
Total Commitment	125,000,000	125,000,000
City National Bank Facility | March 2014 CNB Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding Balance	15,260,000	0
Total Commitment	50,000,000	50,000,000
MetLife Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding Balance	101,131,000	101,131,000
Total Commitment	180,000,000	180,000,000
April 2014 UBS Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding Balance	34,000,000	34,000,000
Total Commitment	140,000,000	140,000,000
U.S. Bank Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Outstanding Balance	164,236,000	161,005,000
Total Commitment	$ 185,989,000	$ 185,989,000

DEBT - Disclosures (Details)

DEBT - Disclosures (Details)	Dec. 14, 2015	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018USD ($)extension	Mar. 31, 2017USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)	Dec. 21, 2017
Funding agreements
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity					$ 1,540,989,000		$ 1,540,989,000
Amount of debt discount on the initial draw down amount							2,600,000
Maximum
Funding agreements
Extension period of maturity date					12 months
Secured term loan
Funding agreements
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity					$ 110,000,000		110,000,000
Number of extension periods available for maturity date | extension					1
Extension period of maturity date					12 months
Aggregate principal amount					$ 110,000,000
Debt discount on initial draw down (as a percent)						8.70%
Secured term loan | LIBOR
Funding agreements
Interest rate margin (as a percent)					500.00%			600.00%
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Effective Percentage					730.00%	850.00%
Secured term loan | LIBOR | Scenario, Forecast
Funding agreements
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Increase (Decrease)		75.00%	37.50%	12.50%
Secured term loan | Minimum | LIBOR
Funding agreements
Interest rate margin (as a percent)								100.00%
Wells Fargo Facility
Funding agreements
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity					$ 500,000,000		500,000,000
Wells Fargo Facility | Secured revolving funding facility
Funding agreements
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity					$ 500,000,000
Number of extension periods available for maturity date | extension					2
Extension period of maturity date					12 months
Non-utilization fee on average available balance (as a percent)					0.25%
Non-utilization threshold percentage (less than) (as a percent)					75.00%
Non-utilization/commitment fee						$ 9,000
Wells Fargo Facility | Secured revolving funding facility | Minimum | 30 day LIBOR
Funding agreements
Interest rate margin (as a percent)	1.75%
Wells Fargo Facility | Secured revolving funding facility | Maximum | 30 day LIBOR
Funding agreements
Interest rate margin (as a percent)	2.35%
Wells Fargo Facility | Revolving master repurchase facility | 30 day LIBOR
Funding agreements
Non-utilization/commitment fee					$ 0
Citibank Facility
Funding agreements
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity					250,000,000		250,000,000
Citibank Facility | Secured revolving funding facility
Funding agreements
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity					$ 250,000,000
Number of extension periods available for maturity date | extension					3
Extension period of maturity date					12 months
Non-utilization fee on average available balance (as a percent)					0.25%
Non-utilization/commitment fee					$ 51,000	20,000
Citibank Facility | Secured revolving funding facility | Minimum | 30 day LIBOR
Funding agreements
Interest rate margin (as a percent)					2.25%
Citibank Facility | Secured revolving funding facility | Maximum | 30 day LIBOR
Funding agreements
Interest rate margin (as a percent)					2.50%
BAML Facility
Funding agreements
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity					$ 125,000,000		125,000,000
BAML Facility | Secured revolving funding facility
Funding agreements
Non-utilization fee on average available balance (as a percent)					0.125%
BAML Facility | Secured funding facility
Funding agreements
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity					$ 125,000,000
Non-utilization/commitment fee					$ 11,000	9,000
Term of debt					2 years
Facility used on average (at least) (as a percent)					50.00%
BAML Facility | Secured funding facility | One-month LIBOR
Funding agreements
Interest rate margin (as a percent)					2.00%
BAML Facility | Secured funding facility | Minimum | One-month LIBOR
Funding agreements
Interest rate margin (as a percent)					2.25%
BAML Facility | Secured funding facility | Maximum | One-month LIBOR
Funding agreements
Interest rate margin (as a percent)					2.75%
City National Bank Facility | March 2014 CNB Facility
Funding agreements
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity					$ 50,000,000		50,000,000
Non-utilization fee on average available balance (as a percent)					0.375%
Non-utilization/commitment fee					$ 46,000	47,000
City National Bank Facility | March 2014 CNB Facility | LIBOR for a one, two, three, six or 12-month
Funding agreements
Interest rate margin (as a percent)					3.00%
City National Bank Facility | March 2014 CNB Facility | One-month LIBOR
Funding agreements
Interest rate margin (as a percent)					1.00%
City National Bank Facility | March 2014 CNB Facility | Federal funds rate
Funding agreements
Interest rate margin (as a percent)					0.50%
City National Bank Facility | March 2014 CNB Facility | Base rate
Funding agreements
Interest rate margin (as a percent)					1.25%
City National Bank Facility | March 2014 CNB Facility | Minimum
Funding agreements
Interest rate (as a percent)					3.00%
Facility used on average (at least) (as a percent)					75.00%
April 2014 UBS Facility
Funding agreements
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity					$ 140,000,000		140,000,000
April 2014 UBS Facility | Revolving master repurchase facility
Funding agreements
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity					$ 140,000,000
April 2014 UBS Facility | Assets subject to an advance for one year or less | Revolving master repurchase facility | One-month LIBOR
Funding agreements
Interest rate margin (as a percent)					1.88%
April 2014 UBS Facility | Assets subject to an advance in excess of one year but less than two years | Revolving master repurchase facility | One-month LIBOR
Funding agreements
Interest rate margin (as a percent)					2.08%
April 2014 UBS Facility | Assets subject to an advance for greater than two years | Revolving master repurchase facility | One-month LIBOR
Funding agreements
Interest rate margin (as a percent)					2.28%
U.S. Bank Facility
Funding agreements
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity					$ 185,989,000		185,989,000
U.S. Bank Facility | Revolving master repurchase facility
Funding agreements
Number of extension periods available for maturity date | extension					2
Extension period of maturity date					12 months
U.S. Bank Facility | Revolving master repurchase facility | 30 day LIBOR
Funding agreements
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity					$ 186,000,000
Interest rate margin (as a percent)					0.00%
Non-utilization/commitment fee					$ 0	$ 42,000
U.S. Bank Facility | Revolving master repurchase facility | One-month LIBOR
Funding agreements
Interest rate margin (as a percent)					2.25%
MetLife Facility
Funding agreements
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity					$ 180,000,000		$ 180,000,000
MetLife Facility | Secured revolving funding facility
Funding agreements
Non-utilization threshold percentage (less than) (as a percent)					65.00%
Non-utilization/commitment fee					$ 6,000
MetLife Facility | Revolving master repurchase facility
Funding agreements
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity					$ 180,000,000
Number of extension periods available for maturity date | extension					2
Extension period of maturity date					12 months
MetLife Facility | Revolving master repurchase facility | 30 day LIBOR
Funding agreements
Interest rate margin (as a percent)					2.35%	2.30%
Non-utilization/commitment fee						$ 0

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES -

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES - Commitments to Fund (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Total commitments	$ 1,788,189	$ 1,847,534
Less: funded commitments	(1,668,563)	(1,737,286)
Total unfunded commitments	$ 119,626	$ 110,248

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY - Common S

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY - Common Stock (Details)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018shares
Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]
Common stock shares issued in public or private offerings	0

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY - Disclosu

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY - Disclosures (Details) - shares	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2012	Apr. 23, 2012
Equity Incentive Plan
Number of shares of common stock that may granted under the plan (in shares)			690,000
Percentage of issued and outstanding shares of common stock eligible to be granted under the plan		7.50%
Restricted stock
Equity Incentive Plan
Shares Granted (in shares)	396,779
Restricted stock activity
Balance at the beginning of the period (in shares)	112,052
Granted (in shares)	0
Vested (in shares)	(9,173)
Forfeited (in shares)	0
Balance at the end of the period (in shares)	102,879
Future Anticipated Vesting Schedule
2018 (in shares)	43,402
2019 (in shares)	30,573
2020 (in shares)	28,904
2021 (in shares)	0
2022 (in shares)	0
Total (in shares)	102,879
Restricted stock | Minimum
Equity Incentive Plan
Award vesting period	1 year
Restricted stock | Maximum
Equity Incentive Plan
Award vesting period	4 years
Restricted stock | Directors
Restricted stock activity
Balance at the beginning of the period (in shares)	21,394
Granted (in shares)	0
Vested (in shares)	(6,942)
Forfeited (in shares)	0
Balance at the end of the period (in shares)	14,452
Future Anticipated Vesting Schedule
2018 (in shares)	9,448
2019 (in shares)	3,336
2020 (in shares)	1,668
2021 (in shares)	0
2022 (in shares)	0
Total (in shares)	14,452
Restricted stock | Officer
Restricted stock activity
Balance at the beginning of the period (in shares)	90,658
Granted (in shares)	0
Vested (in shares)	(2,231)
Forfeited (in shares)	0
Balance at the end of the period (in shares)	88,427
Future Anticipated Vesting Schedule
2018 (in shares)	33,954
2019 (in shares)	27,237
2020 (in shares)	27,236
2021 (in shares)	0
2022 (in shares)	0
Total (in shares)	88,427
Restricted stock | May 1, 2012
Equity Incentive Plan
Shares Granted (in shares)	35,135
Restricted stock | June 18, 2012
Equity Incentive Plan
Shares Granted (in shares)	7,027
Restricted stock | July 9, 2012
Equity Incentive Plan
Shares Granted (in shares)	25,000
Restricted stock | June 26, 2013
Equity Incentive Plan
Shares Granted (in shares)	22,526
Restricted stock | November 25, 2013
Equity Incentive Plan
Shares Granted (in shares)	30,381
Restricted stock | January 31, 2014
Equity Incentive Plan
Shares Granted (in shares)	48,273
Restricted stock | February 26, 2014
Equity Incentive Plan
Shares Granted (in shares)	12,030
Restricted stock | February 27, 2014
Equity Incentive Plan
Shares Granted (in shares)	22,354
Restricted stock | June 24, 2014
Equity Incentive Plan
Shares Granted (in shares)	17,658
Restricted stock | June 24, 2015
Equity Incentive Plan
Shares Granted (in shares)	25,555
Restricted stock | April 25, 2016
Equity Incentive Plan
Shares Granted (in shares)	10,000
Restricted stock | June 27, 2016
Equity Incentive Plan
Shares Granted (in shares)	24,680
Restricted stock | April 25, 2017
Equity Incentive Plan
Shares Granted (in shares)	81,710
Restricted stock | June 7, 2017
Equity Incentive Plan
Shares Granted (in shares)	18,224
Restricted stock | October 17, 2017
Equity Incentive Plan
Shares Granted (in shares)	7,278
Restricted stock | December 15, 2017
Equity Incentive Plan
Shares Granted (in shares)	8,948

EARNINGS PER SHARE - Narrative

EARNINGS PER SHARE - Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018	Mar. 31, 2017
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Net income attributable to common stockholders	$ 9,318	$ 6,453
Divided by:
Basic weighted average shares of common stock outstanding (in shares)	28,495,833	28,468,819
Non-vested restricted stock (in shares)	103,083	13,937
Diluted weighted average shares of common stock outstanding (in shares)	28,598,916	28,482,756
Basic and diluted earnings per common share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.33	$ 0.23

INCOME TAX - Schedule of Compon

INCOME TAX - Schedule of Components of Income Tax (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018	Mar. 31, 2017
Components of the company's income tax provision
Total income tax expense, including excise tax	$ 81	$ 68
Excise tax rate	4.00%
ACRE Capital Sale
Components of the company's income tax provision
Current	$ 6	3
Deferred	0	0
Excise tax	75	65
Total income tax expense, including excise tax	$ 81	$ 68

FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTR47

FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS - Carrying Value and Fair Value (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Carrying value and estimated fair value of the financial assets on the consolidated balance sheet
Loans held for investment	$ 1,658,375	$ 1,726,283
Carrying Value
Carrying value and estimated fair value of the financial assets on the consolidated balance sheet
Loans held for investment	1,658,375	1,726,283
Financial liabilities:
Secured funding agreements	929,454	957,960
Secured term loan	107,797	107,595
Collateralized loan obligation securitization debt (consolidated VIE)	271,393	271,211
Fair Value | Level II
Financial liabilities:
Secured funding agreements	929,454	957,960
Secured term loan	110,000	110,000
Fair Value | Level III
Carrying value and estimated fair value of the financial assets on the consolidated balance sheet
Loans held for investment	1,668,563	1,737,286
Financial liabilities:
Collateralized loan obligation securitization debt (consolidated VIE)	$ 272,927	$ 272,927

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS - Na

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS - Narrative (Details)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018USD ($)quarter	Mar. 31, 2017USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity	$ 1,540,989,000		$ 1,540,989,000
Management fee renewal term	1 year
Management fee look back period	24 months
Multiplier of average annual base management fee to arrive at termination fee	3
ACREM
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Base management fees as a percentage of stockholders' equity per annum	1.50%
Incentive fee payable (not less than)	$ 0
Percentage multiplied to arrive at first value affecting calculation of incentive fees	20.00%
Previous period for which core earnings are considered to arrive at first value affecting calculation of incentive fees	12 months
Previous period for product of weighted average price per share and weighted average number of shares of common stock and other shares	12 months
Percentage multiplied to arrive at difference of first value affecting calculation of incentive fees	8.00%
Period for which cumulative core earnings must be greater than zero | quarter	9
Period whose fiscal quarters are considered to arrive at first value affecting calculation of incentive fees	12 months
Period considered to arrive at second value affecting calculation of incentive fees	3 years
Minimum cumulative core earnings (greater than)	$ 12
Incentive fees incurred	$ 0	$ 268,000

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS - Re

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS - Related Party Costs Incurred (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2018	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2017
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Payable	$ 2,531		$ 2,628
Continuing Operations | ACREM
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Incurred	2,585	$ 2,820
Payable	2,531		2,628
Continuing Operations | ACREM | Management fees
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Incurred	1,558	1,544
Payable	1,558		1,549
Continuing Operations | ACREM | Incentive fees
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Incurred	0	268
Payable	0		0
Continuing Operations | ACREM | General and administrative expenses
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Incurred	924	948
Payable	924		1,016
Continuing Operations | ACREM | Direct costs
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Incurred	103	$ 60
Payable	$ 49		$ 63

DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS - N

DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS - Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	Mar. 01, 2018	Mar. 07, 2017	Mar. 31, 2018	Mar. 31, 2017
DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS
Dividends per share amount declared (in dollars per share)	$ 0.28	$ 0.27	$ 0.28	$ 0.27
Total cash dividends	$ 8,008	$ 7,690	$ 8,008	$ 7,690

VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES - Na

VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES - Narrative (Details)	Mar. 02, 2017USD ($)Loan	Mar. 31, 2018USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2017USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017USD ($)
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Carrying Amount		$ 1,658,375,000		$ 1,726,283,000
Loans held for investment related to consolidated VIE		275,040,000		341,158,000
Primary beneficiary
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Maximum exposure to loss		68,200,000
Floating Rate Notes, Weighted Average Coupon Rate, LIBOR Plus 1.85%
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Number of properties collateralized for mortgage loan | Loan	11
Collateral amount		275,000,000		$ 341,200,000
Receivables related to repayments of outstanding principal		$ 66,100,000
Offered Certificates
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Prepayment fee, percent		1.00%
Mortgaged Assets
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Prepayment fee, percent		1.00%
Interest expense		$ 2,300,000	$ 599,000
Parent Company | Secured funding agreements and securitizations debt
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Carrying Amount	$ 68,200,000
Parent Company | Offered Certificates
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Preferred equity fully funded amount	32,400,000
Holdco | Mortgaged Assets
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Principal amount of certificates retained by wholly owned subsidiary of the entity	35,800,000
ACRE Commercial Mortgage 2017-FL3 Ltd And ACRE Commercial Mortgage 2017-FL3 LLC | Floating Rate Notes, Weighted Average Coupon Rate, LIBOR Plus 1.85%
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Carrying Amount	$ 308,800,000

SUBSEQUENT EVENTS (Details)

SUBSEQUENT EVENTS (Details) - USD ($)	May 01, 2018	Apr. 17, 2018	Mar. 01, 2018	Mar. 07, 2017	Mar. 31, 2018	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2017
Subsequent Events
Outstanding Principal					$ 1,668,563,000		$ 1,737,286,000
Dividends declared per share of common stock (in dollars per share)			$ 0.28	$ 0.27	$ 0.28	$ 0.27
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate, Commercial and Consumer, Net					$ 1,658,375,000		$ 1,726,283,000
Subsequent event
Subsequent Events
Dividends declared per share of common stock (in dollars per share)	$ 0.28
Senior Mortgage Loans | Multifamily | SOUTH CAROLINA | Subsequent event
Subsequent Events
Outstanding Principal		$ 39,200,000
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate, Commercial and Consumer, Net		$ 38,500,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage		336.00%
Term of debt		3 years
Senior Mortgage Loans | Hotel | ILLINOIS | Subsequent event
Subsequent Events
Outstanding Principal		$ 32,900,000
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate, Commercial and Consumer, Net		$ 18,900,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage		440.00%
Term of debt		3 years