Representing yourself as an agent

[Tanner King]

Hello, can anyone who has represented themselves as an agent in a transaction give me insight or advice please?

I am looking to acquire my second house hack with in the next few months and am in the process of getting my license in order to represent myself in the transaction. I submitted my application a few weeks ago and am just waiting on approval and studying in the meantime, until I can take my exams and get fingerprints done. I will be using an FHA loan and am looking at 4plexes, I'm hoping to offset my down payment by representing myself in the transaction.

I plan on negotiating seller credits to help cover closing costs and buy down my rate if possible. 

Will seller credits affect the amount of commission I can walk away with?
What does this look like, does my brokerage cut me a check for the commission at or after closing?
Is it possible to apply my commission to the down payment before closing and bring less money upfront?

If anyone has experience with this and can answer these questions or provide any other insight or things I may be overlooking it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[Doug Smith]

My wife actually originally got her license for the same reason...so we could list our own flips instead of having that revenue walk out of our household. We invest, but I'm also a lender. On an FHA loan, seller credits and commission are treated separately. Sellers can contribute up to 6% of the purchase price toward closing costs, prepaid items, and rate buy-downs, and seller‑paid real estate commissions do not count toward that limit, so negotiating seller credits does not automatically reduce the commission you earn. The commission is paid at closing to your brokerage and then paid out to you based on your broker agreement, usually at or shortly after closing. FHA does allow a licensed buyer‑agent to use their earned commission from the transaction to reduce their net cash to close, but this is lender‑specific and typically shows as a credit on the Closing Disclosure rather than eliminating the need to bring funds upfront. Seller credits cannot be used for the down payment, but your earned commission is treated differently because it is your income, not a concession. Different underwriters/lenders are going to have different intrepretations and overlays. If you've got a great lender with a lot of experience, chat with them about it. Make sure you're working with an experienced pro. Lots of loan officers don't have the experience you're going to want on this one. Good luck to you.