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 4 Recap

By Louisiana REALTORS® • April 3, 2026
This week, the Legislature remained in high gear, and several items relevant to Louisiana’s real estate market moved into focus. The biggest headline for our industry this week was HB 468 by Rep. Troy Hebert , our wholesaling/consumer-protection bill, was slated to be heard on the House floor, however was bumped due to floor congestion and out-of-order bills. It is now expected to be reset for next Tuesday. This bill remains one of the clearest “market integrity” efforts on the board with clearer rules for non-traditional transactions, stronger transparency and better consumer protections. We also continued substantive policy work behind the scenes. We are actively engaging with Rep. Carver on a vacant land disclosure bill he has authored, and we appreciate that he is welcoming our input and guidance as the language is refined. Our goal is straightforward: ensure any vacant land disclosure framework is practical, reduces confusion and avoids unintentionally shifting liability or enforcement burdens onto real estate professionals. In addition, we were pleased to deepen our relationships at the Capitol this week. We had the privilege of hosting a lunch for the Governor’s Office, enjoyed meeting Governor Landry’s team, and look forward to working with them in a constructive, solutions-oriented manner as the session continues. Finally, Rep. Hebert also filed an additional measure that aligns with our legislative agenda and speaks directly to transaction risk management: HB 1027 , which would limit liability for licensed real estate appraisers in situations involving smoke and carbon monoxide detector compliance. The current law already provides that real estate agents are not liable for a seller’s failure to comply with Louisiana’s detector requirements in one- or two-family dwellings. HB 1027 would extend that same liability protection to licensed appraisers by amending R.S. 40:1581(F). This is a clean, common-sense clarification that helps prevent appraisers from being pulled into compliance disputes that properly belong with the seller’s statutory obligations. Next week, committees are scheduled to hear multiple bills relevant to real estate, including measures involving construction and roofing standards (often tied to insurance and mitigation), property rights/expropriation, and property tax and adjudicated property issues that can influence housing supply and neighborhood reinvestment. We will stay closely engaged and will flag any bills or amendments that materially affect transactions, homeownership costs or private property rights. Please view the weekly bill tracking report provided by our lobbying team over at Harris, DeVille and Associates.

Cookbook for the REALTORS® Relief Foundation!

By Louisiana REALTORS® • April 2, 2026
Louisiana REALTORS® is compiling a cookbook of Louisiana flavor with a REALTOR® heart in support of the REALTORS® Relief Foundation . And we have two ways for you to get involved:  Join us in contributing your favorite recipe using this online form. If you want to include a picture with your recipe, send to info@larealtors.org and reference recipe title in email subject. Or share your creativity by designing the cover artwork for the cookbook. A small committee will review all entries and choose one to print on the cover. Stay tuned for more details on when you can grab your own copy of the cookbook! Cover artwork and recipes are due by April 17th.

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.
Show More