What questions do we need to ask of appraisers?

My mom has Alzheimer’s and my siblings and I have had to put her in a nursing home. We’re now going through her stuff and trying to get her condo ready for sale.

She has a lot of stuff that may be quite valuable, but then again, maybe not so much. We don’t know, and of course, she doesn’t either. She can’t remember when she bought them or how much she paid for them.

We are thinking of hiring appraisers to get a sense of how much some of the more valuable-looking objects might be worth. What do we need to know about appraisers, and what should we ask them when we interview them? Have any of you gone through this experience, and what were the lessons learned? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I have heard of one scam, though. Most appraisers are also auctioneers, but this leads to a potential conflict of interest, and the scam is to appraise low. It works like this:

The appraiser says your object is worth $2000. He says you should get at least this much if you auction it off. In fact, if you’ll let him auction it off, he’ll guarantee you $2000. You say great, go for it. But in fact, he knows that he can get $5000 for it but doesn’t tell you. You get your check for $2000, and he pockets the balance.