Update for anyone who might have been on a similar journey as mine.
I brought my packet to a 9th mortgage broker who looked over my package and said that he could not get me a mortgage do to there being way too many issues with income.
Humbled, humiliated, and defeated, I told my agent that I think that it is time to kill this deal.
As a last resort, she wanted me to approach my Credit Union and see what they would do. I have read a lot of advice on this site to go to Credit Unions first, but the ones that operate in our area typically won't really touch a mortgage without a 700 score.
Yesterday, I made the call and forwarded all of my application from the previous broker and supporting documentation to a Loan Originator at one of the larger prime Credit Unions in our area. After about 3 hours, he called me and told me a list of mistakes that were made on my application with the brokers I had previously been talking to.
So that no one ever has to go through what I have been through (now in my fifth month and 10th lender, 4th time in underwriting), here are some mis-steps that have been made along the way with clarifications from our current Loan Originator.
1) Early in the process, I was told by a broker to open some new credit cards to get my revolving available down. This advice was partially correct according to the new Loan Originator. What I should have done was immediately after opening them, I should have transfered balances so that no card had over 50% balance on it.
2) The first 9 brokers that I had talked to have all stated that my rental income can not be used because I have less than 2 years rental history on that home (mid 2013 to present). What they didn't ask was how long I have been a landlord. These two questions are fundamentally different. I have 4.5 years of history of being a landlord. My house before my previous one was a multi unit. Previous to that, I was a landlord for a company.
3) So far, every broker we have talked to has told me that we can not put my wife's income on the application because she just started her job. In reality, she was recruited to come back to a job that she had previously been at for 3.5 years. All that is needed is a letter of explanation for why she left and why she came back. (better pay and better hours)
4) Assets. This one is the dumbest one by far. I don't know why this is, but I have begged every single broker that I have talked to to let me put my owned-outright assets on my application. Every single one of them told me that I should not unless I owe something against it. The Quicken guy went so far as to take my assets off the application when I put them on it because he said he needed to for DTI because I might have to "pay insurance" or if they break I might have to pay to repair them. My current LO sees things the way I thought that a mortgage broker might. I own recreational properties, I own several vehicles, I have a very expensive gun collection, I have silver, I have gold. All of these are things that I can fall back on if I had to.
So, I am approved again. This time at a lower interest rate than I have seen from anyone yet. They are typing up a new 90% letter as I type this out. I am almost afraid to post so that I don't jynx myself, but I think that if I just help one person out with this that I suppose it doesn't matter. Every LO sees things a little bit different it seems.
One way or another, this will be the last guy I deal with. Either they will get me through underwriting and I close on the house, or they don't and we cancel the deal.
Starting Score: EQ608 TU531 EX568
They've done a lot for me 
