Real Estate Agent Expense

[Raj Kumar]

I am a Real estate investor and have been investing in Northen VA (DC Metro), Richmond,VA and Myrtle Beach, SC. I usually do all my research online and let the agents know that I want to see the following houses.I have a full time job, so when I have some free time to see the properties, It was hard to get appts from realtors in the time I want to go. So I was thinking of getting a VA Realtor licence for the freedom and also help some friends to buy/sell houses for a lower commision. Looks like I need access to N.VA and Richmond,VA MLS.
Here are my questions
1)If I do 2 to 3 transactions per year, Is it worth to become an agent?
2)What are the costs in keeping my RE licence active?
3)What will I loose by not using an agent while buying/selling?
Thanks in advance for your help.