REALTOR® Community Involvement Spotlight: Deneka Vallius

Louisiana REALTORS® • March 23, 2021

REALTOR® Spotlight: Deneka Vallius

Deneka Vallius

Deneka Vallius had an introduction to both real estate and hard work at a young age. A first generation Haitian-American, she watched her immigrant father work his French Quarter job with relentless focus, saving to invest in his first rental property. Once that goal was achieved, he kept pushing forward with Deneka right at his side, acting as a translator between her father and his tenants. While most kids were studying only what could be learned at school, she was getting a crash course in property management and picking up the skills and knowledge that she would one day use to help not only her south Louisiana neighbors, but Haitian citizens as well.


Finding Her Career in Real Estate


While attending Tulane University and earning her degree in public relations, Deneka began to take some elective real estate courses. She thought it may be a good fit given her background in property management, and she was right. By 2011, she had earned her real estate license and was increasingly taking note of the housing and financial struggles that were surrounding her area. As the daughter of an immigrant and someone with an empathetic nature, Deneka recognized that this was a space in which she could make a significant, positive impact.

Developing a Passion for Community Outreach


Chief among the challenges she saw was a simple lack of information. Low-income families and individuals were completely unaware of the programs available to help them achieve home ownership and greater levels of financial security. Deneka’s solution: knowledge! She knew that if she could reach these individuals and teach them about their options, she could help them improve their situation. In turn, she began to host free financial literacy and homebuyer classes. She became increasingly involved with the affordable housing community to ensure that home subsidies provided in New Orleans would continue to be accessible, and when COVID-19 struck, she aided clients with their unemployment claims, even when she had to do it via Skype or Zoom from another country!


Charitable Work in Haiti


During the early months of the pandemic, Deneka stayed in Haiti, near members of her extended family. Of course, being the person she is, this was far from a break in her work. In addition to continuing to help her clients back home, she dove headfirst into her recently established nonprofit organization, the Ayiti Cheri Foundation.


Having witnessed firsthand the language barriers that her father faced, Deneka started her foundation to help other young Haitian school children avoid the same struggles. With most speaking Haitian Creole at home and French in school, an alarming number of young children are unable to advance their education due to language obstacles. To address this, Ayiti Cheri Foundation offers services like afterschool tutoring, courses in English as a second language, and resources to Haitian parents who wish to learn French.


Moving Forward as a REALTOR® and Activist


While Deneka’s professional ambitions will surely continue to evolve, so will her community involvement and outreach. It’s her passion. In her own words, “We should all have an open ear. We as REALTORS® need to stop saying no. The word ‘no’ in the low-income community is what keeps everyone at that bottom.” We agree, Deneka, and we hope more REALTORS® will follow your lead!


NOMINATE A REALTOR®

2026 Legislative Session Scoop - Week 3 Recap

By Louisiana REALTORS® • March 27, 2026
Week three of the Regular Session kept real estate issues in the conversation, even as lawmakers continued to focus heavily on workforce, tax and insurance policy. On the property tax front, measures to reshape assessments and exemptions, including proposals for a new blight rehabilitation exemption and additional relief for seniors, remain parked in the House Ways and Means Committee as stakeholders work through fiscal and local government concerns. These bills matter because they will influence long-term carrying costs, redevelopment incentives and how tax burdens are shared across residential and commercial property. Homestead related legislation, including parish level authority to increase the exemption amount, is also in the queue, signaling that the broader structure of Louisiana’s homestead system is officially on the table, not just the dollar figure. For homeowners and buyers, this debate goes directly to affordability. For local governments, it raises revenue stability and service delivery questions. There also has been movement on several identical pieces of legislation that would instruct parish assessors to develop a process for homeowners to permanently register for the homestead exemption for the duration that they own and live on the property. We are actively tracking legislation that will directly shape how investor activity and non-traditional transactions are recognized and regulated in Louisiana’s real estate market. This includes HB 468 by Troy Hebert , a key component of the Louisiana REALTORS® legislative package that targets the wholesale of residential real estate, which was heard in the House Commerce Committee on Monday. The bill is currently positioned for a floor vote early next week. As drafted, HB 468 represents a major step in the right direction for consumer protection in Louisiana, advancing needed guardrails through potential disclosure, registration, and practice standards that could redefine how assignment contracts and “off-market” transactions intersect with licensed brokerage activity. In parallel, HB 292 by Delisha Boyd passed the House on final reading, 86-3, and is on its way to the Senate. Together, these measures represent a coordinated policy effort to bring greater structure and transparency to emerging transaction models, while preserving the integrity of the traditional brokerage framework. Finally, the broader policy backdrop remains important: the Governor continues to push income tax changes and cost of living relief, while business and industry groups are prioritizing insurance, workforce and energy — each a key driver of long run housing demand and investment. As these debates evolve, we’ll keep you updated on what moves, what stalls and what it all means for your clients, your pipeline and private property rights across Louisiana. Please view the weekly bill tracking report provided by our lobbying team over at Harris, DeVille and Associates.

Webinar Recording - 2026 Tax Season Updates from Greg Kennedy, CPA

By Louisiana REALTORS® • March 26, 2026
Tax Questions & Updates for 2026 Webinar Recording Now Available

Consumer Guide Update: Staging Your House For A Sale

By Louisiana REALTORS® • March 20, 2026
NAR is pleased to share the latest consumer guide that explains the concept of home staging, offers DIY staging tips and missteps and shares the latest NAR member sentiment on how staging can help buyers better visualize the property as their future home and potentially net sellers a higher price. As a reminder, all guides in this series are available for download—in both English and Spanish—on facts.realtor . Please allow up to two weeks for the Spanish version of the latest resource to be translated and uploaded. For ease of reference, below is a list of the most recent guides: NEW: Staging Your House for a Sale Spotting Deepfake Scams in Real Estate Are You Ready to Invest in Real Estate? Thinking of Selling? 7 Factors to Consider How to Make Your Home More Energy Efficient Thank you for your continued engagement with the “Consumer Guide” series and for sharing the resources with prospective clients to ensure they have the information they need to find success in their home buying or selling journey. Remember that these guides are for informational purposes only and are not meant to enact or change any existing NAR policy. Be on the lookout for the next consumer guide, which discusses home mortgage options that allow buyers to fold in renovation costs.
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