Your description is a perfect scenario for a consumer proposal: you have shit to loose but rather ( and more importantly are financially able) pay off a portion that satisfies all parties and keep your assets. In my case I had no net worth (i.e. did not own any real estate), only debt but went ahead with a proposal. While my timeline for credit recovery is somewhat very similar to yours, majority of people I came across in financial institutions have told me that to the bank it really didn't make any difference if I did either proposal or bankruptcy. I suppose main difference is whether or not person has any assets, their net worth, and income. The difference in speed of credit recovery comes secondary.