Note 4 - Residential Mortgage Loans Held in Securitization Trusts (Net) and Real Estate Owned
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2013
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate [Abstract]  
Mortgage Loans on Real Estate, by Loan Disclosure [Text Block]

4.                Residential Mortgage Loans Held in Securitization Trusts (Net) and Real Estate Owned


Residential mortgage loans held in securitization trusts (net) consist of the following at December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively (dollar amounts in thousands):


   

December 31,

2013

   

December 31,

2012

 

Unpaid principal balance

  $ 165,173       189,009  

Deferred origination costs – net

    1,053       1,198  

Reserve for loan losses

    (2,989

)

    (2,978

)

Total

  $ 163,237       187,229  

Allowance for Loan Losses - The following table presents the activity in the Company's allowance for loan losses on residential mortgage loans held in securitization trusts for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively (dollar amounts in thousands):     


   

Years Ended December 31,

 
   

2013

   

2012

   

2011

 

Balance at beginning of period

  $ 2,978     $ 3,331     $ 2,589  

Provisions for loan losses

    701       675       1,380  

Transfer to real estate owned

    (407

)

    (899

)

    (192

)

Charge-offs

    (283

)

    (129

)

    (446

)

Balance at the end of period

  $ 2,989     $ 2,978     $ 3,331  

On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates the adequacy of its allowance for loan losses. The Company’s allowance for loan losses at December 31, 2013 was $3.0 million, representing 181 basis points of the outstanding principal balance of residential loans held in securitization trusts as of December 31, 2013, as compared to 158 basis points as of December 31, 2012. As part of the Company’s allowance for loan adequacy analysis, management will assess an overall level of allowances while also assessing credit losses inherent in each non-performing residential mortgage loan held in securitization trusts. These estimates involve the consideration of various credit related factors, including but not limited to, current housing market conditions, current loan to value ratios, delinquency status, the borrower’s current economic and credit status and other relevant factors.


Real Estate Owned – The following table presents the activity in the Company’s real estate owned held in residential securitization trusts for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively (dollar amounts in thousands):


   

December 31,

2013

   

December 31,

2012

   

December 31,

2011

 

Balance at beginning of period

  $ 732     $ 454     $ 740  

Write downs

    (433

)

    (124

)

    (87

)

Transfer from mortgage loans held in securitization trusts

    1,184       1,569       698  

Disposal

    (375

)

    (1,167

)

    (897

)

Balance at the end of period

  $ 1,108     $ 732     $ 454  

Real estate owned held in residential securitization trusts are included in receivables and other assets on the balance sheet and write downs are included in provision for loan losses in the statement of operations for reporting purposes.


All of the Company’s mortgage loans and real estate owned held in residential securitization trusts are pledged as collateral for the Residential CDOs issued by the Company.  As of December 31, 2013 and 2012, the Company’s net investment in the residential securitization trusts, which is the maximum amount of the Company’s investment that is at risk to loss and represents the difference between the carrying amount of the mortgage loans and real estate owned held in residential securitization trusts and the amount of Residential CDOs outstanding, was $6.6 million and $7.0 million, respectively.


Delinquency Status of Our Residential Mortgage Loans Held in Securitization Trusts


As of December 31, 2013, we had 34 delinquent loans with an aggregate principal amount outstanding of approximately $18.9 million categorized as Residential Mortgage Loans Held in Securitization Trusts (net). Of the $18.9 million in delinquent loans, $9.1 million, or 48%, are under some form of modified payment plan. The table below shows delinquencies in our portfolio of residential mortgage loans held in securitization trusts, including real estate owned through foreclosure (REO), as of December 31, 2013 (dollar amounts in thousands):


December 31, 2013


Days Late

 

Number of Delinquent

Loans

   

Total

Unpaid Principal

   

% of Loan

Portfolio

 

30 - 60

    3       601       0.36 %

61 - 90

    1       239       0.14 %

90 +

    30       18,036       10.76 %

Real estate owned through foreclosure

    5       2,381       1.42 %

As of December 31, 2012, we had 35 delinquent loans with an aggregate principal amount outstanding of approximately $19.5 million categorized as Residential Mortgage Loans Held in Securitization Trusts (net). Of the $19.5 million in delinquent loans, $15.2 million, or 78%, were under some form of modified payment plan. The table below shows delinquencies in our portfolio of residential mortgage loans held in securitization trusts, including REO through foreclosure, as of December 31, 2012 (dollar amounts in thousands): 


December 31, 2012


Days Late

 

Number of Delinquent

Loans

   

Total

Unpaid Principal

   

% of Loan

Portfolio

 

30 - 60

    3     $ 751       0.39 %

61 - 90

        $       %

90 +

    32     $ 18,762       9.85 %

Real estate owned through foreclosure

    4     $ 1,421       0.75 %

The geographic concentrations of credit risk exceeding 5% of the total loan balances in our residential mortgage loans held in securitization trusts and real estate owned held in residential securitization trusts at December 31, 2013 and 2012 are as follows:


   

December 31,

2013

   

December 31,

2012

 

New York

    35.9 %     37.8

%

Massachusetts

    24.6 %     25.2

%

New Jersey

    10.4 %     9.5

%

Florida

    5.8 %     5.1

%

Connecticut

    5.6 %     5.0

%