Closing costs insane...is it real estate a good investment?

[Tyler Kellogg]

Just spoke with a loan officer in the Florida panhandle. She explained there would be around $18,000 total in closing costs to purchase a 250k-300k home...approx $11,000 standard closing costs plus $7,900 in "discount points" (I don't know how discount points get added to an amount instead of subtracted...so if someone can explain that, I'd appreciate it)

My general question is; for a rental investment property (ready to rent, not a flip), is now a decent time to buy? I'm fairly ignorant on home buying (only bought 2 houses in my life) but putting down $18,000 for closing costs seems ridiculous to me. I'd rather put my money into a CD for growth then reattack the rental property in a year or two. Whats the opinion on that from those smarter than I?

Thanks for the feedback!