Wheaton home listed for $3.6M, priciest offering in west suburb

A French Provincial-style mansion in Wheaton has hit the market and could set a record, if it sells for the asking price.

Owners Joe and Laurie Meissner are seeking just under $3.6 million for their six-bedroom, 11,500-square-foot estate on West Mohican Drive, about 45 minutes west of Chicago, the Chicago Tribune reported. 

The mansion is not only the highest-priced listing in Wheaton but its price is also $500,000 more than any home transaction on record in the far west suburb. 

While it’s possible that the home could linger on the market for quite some time, given the high interest-rate environment that stymied Chicago-area home sales last year, it could also be snatched up quickly, as there have been a surge in home showings this year. A slight dip in mortgage rates, mild winter weather and a pool of prospective buyers who have sat on the sidelines long enough are among reasons for increased activity. 

Notably, the Meissners are willing to accept cryptocurrency as full payment for the mansion, aiming to capitalize on recent runup in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, which have reached unprecedented highs in recent weeks. This surge can be attributed to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of bitcoin exchange-traded funds in January, followed by the introduction of numerous bitcoin ETFs.

It’s a rare offering for a home that’s outside of coastal regions, according to listing agent Michael LaFido of eXp Realty. LaFido believes that accepting cryptocurrencies will allow “a pool of potential buyers who have benefited from the rise in value of cryptocurrencies to use those assets to purchase a luxury home,” he told the outlet.

The Meissners paid $434,000 for a previous house on the property in 2005. They subsequently razed it to construct their mansion, completed in 2008.

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The house, sitting on a 0.6-acre lot, features six and a half bathrooms, a music room, a fitness room, two custom-designed French limestone fireplaces, and a kitchen equipped with high-end appliances and granite countertops. It also includes an attached two-car garage with heated flooring, a detached two-car garage, a patio with a gas fire pit, and an outdoor sunroom with heated lamps.

The mansion incurred a property tax bill of $35,000 in the 2022 tax year.

—Quinn Donoghue