VA Construction Loan help

I’m a loan officer, I picked up a loan 2 months ago, after speaking with the borrower.  He asked me if I could do a VA loan for him since he was a veteran with full disability.  He was building a house in NC, and had a construction loan.  I pulled his credit and his construction loan showed for 12 months on credit with $0 as the payment, owing over $900K.  He also said he had a draw or 2 left and it would end up around $1.12 MIL.  I agreed and locked him in to a refinance to pay off the construction loan into a 3 YR VA ARM with Cardinal Financial.  He was selling his current primary, and going to pay the $1.12 MIL construction loan from some local bank In NC down to $630K and that would be his new VA loan.  We get the C/O issued, we do the appraisal, appraisal comes in over $1.3 MIL, everything is moving for a CTC, we are supposed to close by end of July.  Cardinal comes back to me at the last minute and says they cannot do the loan, after underwriting the entire loan, with full income docs, trust docs, etc.  they conditioned for so much back and forth.
 
Here is the reasoning:
 
I reviewed the appeal on the Earliest Consummation Date and I’m confirming the underwriter’s determination: the date is correct, and the earliest the new note can be dated is February 27, 2027. The broker’s argument is that the loan being paid off is not a VA loan and is a construction loan. Neither point changes the outcome:

Non-VA status is immaterial. Our Lending Guide (Chapter 13, VA — Refinance Seasoning and Mortgage History) states that Ginnie Mae seasoning requirements ‘apply, irrespective of whether the existing loan is VA guaranteed.’ The only exemptions are payoffs of non-mortgage debt and mortgages with no scheduled monthly payments (e.g., a reverse mortgage). The First Bank loan is a recorded mortgage with scheduled monthly payments — the file’s own statements show monthly interest payments due and made ($5,217.71 on 5/1/26, $5,391.64 on 6/1/26, $5,217.72 on 7/1/26) — so no exemption applies.
 
I need some advice here so I can close this loan.  Can someone please assist? Why wasn’t this brought to my attention at the start?  They saw the credit report, multiple pay offs, even saw the guy’s last draw taken out I think had been in late June. 

Thanks for any/all insight, I just am very frustrated and need to get this guy closed.