Suggestions on How to Look for Off-Campus Housing in Boston When You're Not in Boston?

I assume that there are other people in this situation. My son and his roommate had decided to find an off-campus apartment (they've lived together in the Berklee dorms this year and last year) for next year. So far they've had a chance--before all hell broke loose--to look at only one place. They would be living with about four other people in a place with two bathrooms, and it's not that close to campus. My son thought it could be fine, but I've had enough experience to know that, the fewer people you live with, the less likely it is that the living situation could be made into a nightmare by even a single sloppy or unpleasant/neurotic roommate. I feel strongly that they should try to find a place for just the two of them (they can afford about $1500/month each--it sounds as if it would be possible to find a two-bedroom for that amount).
However, now my son is home in NJ for the duration, and his roommate is home in Peru, so they can't do any more apartment-searching.
Would it be prudent/useful to pay a real estate agent to find them a place? (I don't know about Boston, but NY just made it illegal for RE agents to charge potential renters a big commission fee). Are there other ways to find a decent place without actually seeing it in person?
(Of course, when I moved back to NJ from FL, I bought a condo sight-unseen that I'd found on Zillow. I had my son and ex-husband look at it before I bought it, but the day I moved in was the first day I saw it in person! Fortunately, I chose pretty well, but I was lucky. I wouldn't generally recommend it!)