Lease agreement help

Has anyone ever signed a lease agreement without even seeing the room? I feel very confident with this lady but the fact that landlords don't want to show the room until you sign and make a deposit makes me worry. It's $1,150 of my money on a 50/50. I looked online and so far she seems like our best fit. In the agreement we see that "you have NOT seen the room but you were sent pictures, if the pictures don't match the room you'll get your money back". Honestly those pictures look so great for a person living in an apartment, like very professional and all. We haven't signed but I was wondering has anyone in California or anywhere signed a lease with a person that posted an ad online and it worked? Thank you!