Best way to calculate if a property is a good investment?

[Hannah Leasure]

Hello all! I am looking to buy my first property this coming up year. Very excited! My husband and I are looking to start off with a duplex near the Harrisburg, PA area, but I’m trying to get a head start. I have looked into a few ways to analyze deals, but not too sure what seems to be the most popular choice. I am naturally trying to discover some formula to see what the ROI would be so that I can calculate (if everything were to go well) how long/far off are we from being financially free (will be working on 5 and 10 year goals soon). Would love some input so that I can begin to analyze one deal each week so that later in the year when we go to buy, I will have a decent idea what I am doing. Thanks for all your help?