Agreed that any prospective renter should tour a property before signing a lease, or at least have a friend or relative tour it for them (I have done this before for friends) - sight unseen strikes me as a totally unnecessary risk.

BUT, definitely HARD DISAGREE about the deposit: 1.5 months is pretty much standard practice. It is not an "excessively high security". There is a more recent trend in JC for new construction to only ask for $500 or $1,000 deposits (conditioned/based on income, credit check, and possibly background check) but that's definitely NOT the norm.