I can tell you that they look at "total credit" and such -- and by closing accounts, you have less credit available -- so however much you owe is divided into a smaller amount.
Owing $2,000 on several cards with a combined limit of $15,000 looks much better to them than $2,000 on a single card with a limit of $3,000.
That is why he said it hurt you to close those accounts.
But whatever you do, don't open more credit card accounts now to fix that! When you "seek credit" that seems to hurt your score, at least in the short-term. And applying for a mortgage goes into this category, so you want it to be your ONLY instance of seeking new credit.
By the way, isn't it the worlds biggest euphemism that they call credit cards "credit cards"? Credit is a positive; debit is a negative. You don't have "credit" at a store unless you have left money with them for future purchases!
If they called them "debt cards" or "slavery cards" I'm sure fewer people would use them
Matthew