To pay off student loans or put $$$ down on a rental

[Amy Ranae]

Hello Friends! I'm a realtor working in the twin cities and I do a lot of good business. I got into real estate to pay off my student loans without really thinking too much about investing. However, the more I work with investors and listen to podcasts, the more I think I really need to get into this. I've got about 30k left on my student loans and about 18k saved up. What are your thoughts on just paying those stupid loans off over the next year-ish vs. buying a rental now and paying the loans off more slowly? 

I feel like I go back and forth a ton. I've made offers on a few properties but our market is pretty competitive at the moment and I don't want to bite off too much with my first one. 

Thanks for you input!