***First Timer, need help on closing cost***

[Franklin Barnes]

Hello Fellow Investors,

After several years of studying REI, I've finally made the leap of faith by taking ACTION and placing an offer on my first rental property. The property is a single family home with an existing tenant. I crunched the numbers for the property using the BP rental calculator and I believe I've gotten myself a great property (hopefully). I will be cash flowing $302 per month and my Coc ROI is 38.65%. The plan is to buy and hold this rental for the long term.

When negotiation with the seller, I asked the seller if he could cover the closing cost since I had reached my max down-payment amount of (20%) in order for me to cover the house at a certain price. After going back and forth several times, the seller agreed to cover up to $3,000.00 to cover closing cost. I was ecstatic about this as I thought this was great idea because it is additional funds I did not have to come out of pocket to cover. I went back to my lender (credit union) and gave them the heads up; unfortunately, I was informed that they cannot accept the lender's money to cover the closing cost. I was so lost and confused by this. According to the lender, it is a rule by Freddie Mac that lenders cannot accept sellers to cover closing cost. 

I'm reaching out to see if any of you have come across this issue or confirm if this is in fact a true statement? Is there any way around this? Would it help if I have the seller write a check directly to me instead and I can redirect the money to my lender during closing? Any advise would greatly be appreciated by this rookie. If it helps, I have a conventional 30yr fix at 3.375% loan. 

Thank you,