We can't answer your question about is it too wet or too dry, but you can.

Stick a trowel in the soil.

If it goes in easily, it can be anywhere from moist to too wet.

If when you remove the trowel, it's dripping, well --- that's too wet . Then, you would have to figure out why. Perhaps a nearby downspout? Run off from the roof? Put your thinking cap on.

If the trowel into the soil, it's too wet OR you hit a rock or something else that's rigid. Try again a few inches to the side.

Have you met, and talked to, your neighbors yet?

Perhaps one or more may have been friends, or gardening buddy, w/ the previous owner. Neighbors often chat about challenges in the garden.

Looks to me like your plants are in some shade. Lavender and catmint need full sun. Fertilize them with Miracle Gro for the yellowing. That might help. The tree they're under is growing and giving too much shade. The brown spots are from tiny insects eating the leaves. Usually they go away and the plant grows new leaves.

"Are they getting too much water, or not enough?"

The symptoms of too much and too little are similar. Buy a moisture meter and stab it in the dirt 3-4 inches. Test several places around the beds.