Once to Margarita to windsurf, another time to Puerto Rico, and then to Aruba. A couple of times to the Finger Lakes to boat, fish and tour wine country. Two trips to the Outer Banks. … My family and I had a bunch of great vacations during the past few years.

Except for the common flaw — a week or two here and there is just not enough.

If only we had a summer place of our own — maybe somewhere close, like the Poconos or Jersey Shore. On top of our vacations, we could have a lot of long weekends, in and out of the prime season. We’d have a special set of summer friends instead of living among strangers for a stolen week or two. And someday, maybe, we’d retire there.

Millions of people have dreams like this.

The truth is, I don’t really share them, because I don’t want to go to the same place year after year.

But many people like the idea, else the vacation-home market wouldn’t be booming. So what are the financial ins and outs of owning a vacation home?

A second home in a popular vacation spot can be a profitable investment. But notice I say “can,” not “will.”

Sure, prices are soaring in many popular areas, but there’s no guarantee that will continue. In fact, vacation properties, like all luxuries, are especially sensitive to economic downturns.

Real estate prices have been rising because low interest rates enable buyers to spend more. If interest rates rise, buyers may drop out of the vacation home market, even though demand for primary homes may hold up. Problem is, people don’t “need” vacation homes. They can always wait.

In looking at any vacation home, it will pay to assess factors that could affect future supply and demand — and thus cause prices to go up or down. If a slew of new homes is being built nearby, oversupply could drive down prices. On the other hand, if you’re looking at a waterfront place and there’s no room for more, the limit on supply could help hold prices up.

Taxing issues

Many buyers hope to help pay for their summer places by renting them out part of the time. The obvious problem is that the highest rents come in the peak season — which is probably when you want the place to yourself.

Renting the property out will generate income, but also raise tricky tax issues.

Generally, the biggest expenses — mortgage interest payments and real estate taxes — are deductible on your federal income tax whether you rent the property or not. Whether you can deduct repair, maintenance, management and utilities expenses depends on how much time you use the property yourself and how much time it’s rented.

It’s important to know these rules up front, and they are so complex and dependent on your individual tax situation that you should get a tax expert to walk you through them.

But tax issues needn’t be the key factor in deciding whether to rent a property out. Every dollar in rental income will put you ahead regardless of whether you get deductions to offset tax on that income. After all, you wouldn’t turn down a raise at work just because part of it would disappear to taxes.

I’d be very careful, however, about buying a summer place if I’d have to depend on rent to make ends meet. And I definitely would not buy a vacation home if I’d have to count on large rent increases in the future. The vacation rental market is very fickle. Rents can plummet if the economy runs into trouble and people decide to stick close to home, look for cheaper places or take shorter vacations.

In for long haul?

Many summer home buyers figure they’ll make a bundle when they sell someday. There’s no guarantee of that, but it does happen. Keep in mind, though, that any profit would be subject to capital gains tax, recently reduced from a maximum of 20 percent to just 15 percent.

If making money on real estate is your chief goal, you might be better off upgrading your main home or buying a more expensive one. That’s because, for a married couple filing a joint return, the first $500,000 in profit on a primary residence is tax-free. The figure’s $250,000 for a single person.

You could avoid the capital gains tax on a vacation property if you turned it into your primary residence for two years prior to selling it. That’s fine if you really want to live in it full time someday. But I’d hate to waste two precious retirements years living full time in a vacation area that’s shuttered and boring nine months of the year.

As you can tell, I’m not enthusiastic about vacation homes. Part of that’s my preference for seeing new places. Part is a suspicion that many people who claim to make money on vacation homes aren’t looking at the expenses honestly. A new air conditioning system, a new roof, a few vacant weeks in the high season. … It doesn’t take much to throw your financial calculations into turmoil.

I’d buy a vacation place only if I loved it so much I was willing to shoulder the entire cost myself. Rental rental income would only count as gravy.