I was informed that I need to work both jobs for two consecutive years for the lender to count both jobs as income.

Because some people count cash flow is all money after PITI/PM fees/and expenses.  

I have prepaid some principal but I do not count that as cash in at this time due to the fact it was completely discretionary + since I have a full time job, I was choosing to throw a little bit of spare change towards the mortgage on top of what my tenants were paying me.

I'm only assuming since I have limited info.Make sure your lender is allowing at least 50%+ of the rental income from the other two units to be counted towards your income. 

The deals are what counts most for any investor.

:-)The example you gave above is when you do a cash-out refinance within the 6 month seasoning period, and say you used a Hard Money lender for purchase, which still counts as mortgage.The key here is an all-cash purchase in the individual’s name. 

Larger apartment buildings initiate rubs (tenant utility bill back) which are usually pro-rated based on number of occupants, bedroom/bath count.

I am from Utah so I am looking for dependable and trustworthy people that I can count on even when I’m not physically there.

So we had a single applicant (not counting the one that pulled after we started processing their application).

As long as your contract gives you an out if there are surprises you weren't counting on, then many questions can be answered after you write the contract.