Leaving our fate in the hands of the EXAM

We've come to a fork in the road.  I can't stand living in our current apartment building any longer (we've lived there 5 years now), Adam wants to buy a house, I'd like to get my C-F-A and the topic of kids seems more and more relevant.......  so, we've decided to let my exam results (which come out January 23rd) dictate the path we take.

Scenerio #1: I PASS!!!!   I would sit for Level 2 in June, which means I would need to start studying almost immediately.  Since house-hunting is so time consuming, we would rent for another year in the City, but probably move to another part of town.  We can't take the parking difficulties and all the parade nonsense. 

Scenerio #2: I FAIL.  :-(   We start househunting immediately.  There's no way I am going to try again for Level 1.  This is the end of the road for me if I fail.  I'm leaning towards buying in South Jersey over PA 'burbs, because it looks like you can get more house for your money. 

I flip flop between which of these two scenerios I want to happen.  I like the idea of buying a house, but like the "city-living" lifestyle.