What if the buyer is my mother? or my friend?
If you are representing your mom or friend, under the CEA ruling, you have to declare the the relationship to the seller upfront.
To get your comms payment, you need to be a registered agent with one of the property agencies. Joining an agencies typically cost you $500 joining fee (one time) and another $500 per year for CEA fees, insurance and email account. Please note that it will takes approximately 4 months before you can start practicing as an agent (assuming you pass at the first attempt) including 1 month to attend courses, 1 month for exam, 1 month for results and 1 month for CEA to conduct background check before issuing you a license. Your property agency will also take a cut of 20-30% of your earnings for the initial x no. of transactions.
The comm for buyer agent is typically 0.5% rather than 1% depending on how you negotiate with the seller or seller agent.
Best wishes on your endeavors and Happy Lunar New Year!