Any suggestions for independent advice

Hi Habby,   Questions like yours are difficult to answer at the best of times, however I do have a couple of thoughts but first I must ask the obvious.   How does a property pass your investment test?

I know nothing about property in Mornington Peninsular, however i'm assuming that property in the $300K to $350K range would be the most sought after.   I would say that almost 60% of Buyers would fit this criteria (First time buyers and Investors) so competition would be tough.

You say,
3 houses we had looked at have dropped the asking price by $20 to 30K.   We have put in 2 bids as 10 to 15% under the asking price but with no success, they are holding on for their price

Does this mean that a house that was listed for say $330,000 has been dropped to $300,000 and you have offered a price of $270,000 in the hope of getting a nick.   If so I suggest that you may be waiting a while for your first property.   List price on a property is not the only consideration when purchasing a property.  Past sales data is far more important, then you need to be able to fairly compare these sold properties with the ones that are currently on the market in order to ascertain if the subject property is better (dearer) or worse (cheaper) than the similar sold property.   This is the simple process that most purchasers go through when buying property, it's called Education.   Many buyers miss out on one or two before they learn the real values.   I suggest that in the example above $300K may well be the real value.

Good luck with your first purchase, don't get frustrated and remember – through education we gain knowledge – through knowledge we gain confidence – and with confidence we are able to act.

Jon