Distressed Residential Mortgage Loans

As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the carrying value of the Company’s distressed residential mortgage loans, including distressed residential mortgage loans held in securitization trusts, amounts to approximately $322.1 million and $331.5 million, respectively.

The Company considers its purchase price for the distressed residential mortgage loans, including distressed residential mortgage loans held in securitization trusts, to be at fair value at the date of acquisition. The Company only establishes an allowance for loan losses subsequent to acquisition.

The following table presents information regarding the estimates of the contractually required payments, the cash flows expected to be collected, and the estimated fair value of the distressed residential mortgage loans acquired during the three months ended March 31, 2017 (dollar amounts in thousands):



	March 31, 2017
Contractually required principal and interest	$	69,263
Nonaccretable yield	(5,892		)
Expected cash flows to be collected	63,371
Accretable yield	(55,448		)
Fair value at the date of acquisition	$	7,923

Distressed residential mortgage loans purchased during the three months ended March 31, 2018 are presented in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets at fair value (see Note 5).

The following table details activity in accretable yield for the distressed residential mortgage loans, including distressed residential mortgage loans held in securitization trusts, for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively (dollar amounts in thousands):



	March 31, 2018			March 31, 2017
Balance at beginning of period	$	303,949		$	530,511
Additions	1,694			81,211
Disposals	(8,694		)	(104,956		)
Accretion	(5,354		)	(6,038		)
Balance at end of period ⁽¹⁾	$	291,595		$	500,728

⁽¹⁾

Accretable yield is the excess of the distressed residential mortgage loans’ cash flows expected to be collected over the purchase price. The cash flows expected to be collected represents the Company’s estimate of the amount and timing of undiscounted principal and interest cash flows. Additions include accretable yield estimates for purchases made during the period and reclassification to accretable yield from nonaccretable yield. Disposals include distressed residential mortgage loan dispositions, which include refinancing, sale and foreclosure of the underlying collateral and resulting removal of the distressed residential mortgage loans from the accretable yield, and reclassifications from accretable to nonaccretable yield. The reclassifications between accretable and nonaccretable yield and the accretion of interest income is based on various estimates regarding loan performance and the value of the underlying real estate securing the loans. As the Company continues to update its estimates regarding the loans and the underlying collateral, the accretable yield may change. Therefore, the amount of accretable income recorded in each of the three month periods ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 is not necessarily indicative of future results.

The geographic concentrations of credit risk exceeding 5% of the unpaid principal balance of our distressed residential mortgage loans, including distressed residential mortgage loans held in securitization trusts, as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively, are as follows:



	March 31, 2018		December 31, 2017
Florida	11.2	%	11.2	%
North Carolina	8.4	%	8.3	%
California	7.0	%	6.9	%
Georgia	5.9	%	5.8	%
New York	5.7	%	5.7	%
South Carolina	5.1	%	5.0	%
Ohio	5.0	%	5.1	%

The Company's distressed residential mortgage loans held in securitization trusts with a carrying value of approximately $119.2 million and $121.8 million at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively, are pledged as collateral for certain of the Securitized Debt issued by the Company (see Note 10). In addition, distressed residential mortgage loans with a carrying value of approximately $178.1 million and $182.6 million at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively, are pledged as collateral for a Master Repurchase Agreement with Deutsche Bank AG, Cayman Islands Branch (see Note 14).