The Texas Observer

Unsheltered

OUTSIDE A BIG, STATELY HOME in a Midland suburb sits a pocket-size tiny house. Curious passersby peer inside the model, picking up flyers and bottled water from a folding table beside it. Manning the table and warmly greeting onlookers are John-Mark and Briana Echols, the owners of both homes.

Victoria, a local realtor sporting an immaculate beehive hairdo and a rhinestone-encrusted peacoat, walks up to John-Mark with a handshake and a wide smile. “This one’s 113 square feet,” he tells her, gesturing to the model home. “But the ones we’re gonna build out there will be about 200.”

John-Mark ushers Victoria inside the tiny home for a tour, and she can’t quite mask

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Texas Observer

The Texas Observer1 min read
Editor’s Note
Dear Observer Community, Short-term rentals—for which companies like Airbnb serve as brokers—are sucking up housing inventory across Texas, driving up prices for renters and home buyers alike. For longterm residents whose neighborhoods have been take
The Texas Observer6 min read
Dark History
My great-grandfather, José-María Arana, was a racist. After the United States barred Chinese men from immigrating under the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, tens of thousands sought a new life in Mexico, where they faced no warmer a welcome as they est
The Texas Observer19 min readAmerican Government
Abbott’s Billion Dollar Barrier
Mary Ann Ortiz has deep roots on Vega Verde Road, which runs along the Rio Grande west of Del Rio. Ortiz was born and raised in this border town of 35,000 in Val Verde County, a couple hours southwest of San Antonio, where her father owned a sizable

Related Books & Audiobooks